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Exports dip 15.2 percent during first 10 days of October

Published: 13 Oct. 2025, 11:34 Updated: 13 Oct. 2025, 15:09

Export-bound cars are parked at Pyeongtaek Port in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi on Oct. 12. [YONHAP]

Korea's exports went down 15.2 percent from a year earlier in the first 10 days of October, data showed Monday, mainly due to fewer working days stemming from the extended Chuseok holiday.

Outbound shipments reached $13 billion in the Oct. 1-10 period, compared to $15.3 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

The decline was largely attributed to the long Chuseok holiday, which this year extended through last Thursday, reducing the number of working days to 3 1/2, compared to 5 1/2 days in the same period last year, the agency said.

Despite the overall drop, average daily exports jumped 33.2 percent year on year, the data showed.

Imports dropped 22.8 percent year on year to $13.5 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $500 million.

By item, exports of semiconductors surged 47 percent from a year earlier to $4.5 billion. Chip exports accounted for 34.7 percent of the country's total exports over the cited period, up 14.7 percentage points from the same period last year.

By destination, exports to the United States plummeted 43.4 percent to $1.4 billion amid tariff measures by President Donald Trump's administration.

Exports to China, Korea's top trading partner, fell 19.1 percent to $2.82 billion.

In September, exports rose 12.7 percent from a year earlier to $65.95 billion on the back of strong demand for semiconductors, reaching an all-time high for the first time in 3 1/2 years.

Yonhap