South Korea aims to become one of world's top five exporters, PM says

South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-sook pledged on July 14 to focus government policy on making the country one of the world's top five exporting nations, as exports continue to reach record highs on strong global demand for semiconductors.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Korea International Trade Association, Han said the government would work to strengthen the country's long-term trade performance by expanding both its export markets and product range, Korean media reports. 

"The government will focus policy capabilities on the goal of becoming a top five global export powerhouse and will work to diversify products and markets in order to increase the sustainability of trade growth," she said.

Han noted that South Korea is on track to achieve $1 trillion in exports this year and said the government would deepen partnerships with key countries to boost overseas sales of semiconductors, automobiles and ships.

South Korea's exports reached a record $496.7 billion in the first six months of the year, up 48.4% from the same period a year earlier, driven by robust shipments of memory chips amid rising global demand for artificial intelligence servers.

Exports in June alone climbed 70.9% year-on-year to $102.25 billion.

"We are racing towards logging US$1 trillion in exports this year," Han said, pledging to strengthen partnerships with key countries to expand exports of semiconductors, cars and ships.

By Sabina Mammadli