Imports rose 20.7 percent to $24.6 billion, leaving a trade surplus of $10.4 billion, according to preliminary Korea Customs Service data released Friday. The number of working days was unchanged at 8.5, putting average daily exports at $4.11 billion, also up 82.6 percent.
The $35 billion export tally was the highest ever for the first 10 days of any month, topping the previous record of $30.0 billion set in July this year.
Semiconductors again powered the increase. Chip exports more than tripled, jumping 270.1 percent from a year earlier to $16.5 billion, another record for the Sept. 1-10 period.
Chips accounted for 47.1 percent of all exports, up 23.9 percentage points from a year earlier.
Petroleum product exports rose 57.0 percent, ships 66.8 percent and computer peripherals 93.1 percent. Passenger-car exports increased 10.0 percent, while precision instruments fell 4.8 percent.
Shipments to all of Korea's major trading partners also rose sharply. Exports to China doubled, gaining 103.0 percent to $8.0 billion, while shipments to the United States jumped 137.5 percent to $7.0 billion. Exports to Taiwan climbed 176.0 percent to $3.2 billion. China, the United States and Taiwan together accounted for 51.9 percent of total exports.
The latest figures build on a milestone reached less than a week earlier.
Korea Customs Service Commissioner Lee Jong-wook on Sept. 5 unveiled that cumulative exports had reached $709.4 billion as of that day, exceeding the record $709.3 billion shipped during the whole of 2025.
Lee said the pace put South Korea within sight of $1 trillion in annual exports around early December, a threshold previously reached only by the United States, China and Germany.
By Sept. 10, cumulative exports had risen further to $728.6 billion, up 54.1 percent from a year earlier. Imports totaled $515.6 billion, leaving a year-to-date trade surplus of nearly $213.0 billion, the customs data showed.
The 10-day figures are preliminary short-term statistics and can be affected by the timing of working days and customs clearances, the office added.
AJP Takeaways
- Exports hit a record $35.0 billion in Sept. 1-10, up 82.6 percent, with semiconductor shipments soaring 270.1 percent to $16.5 billion.
- Year-to-date exports reached $728.6 billion by Sept. 10, after already surpassing 2025's full-year record of $709.3 billion on Sept. 5.
- Customs Commissioner Lee Jong-wook said the current pace could take Korea past $1 trillion in annual exports in early December, potentially making it the fourth economy to cross the threshold.
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