Korea Semiconductor Export Index: Monthly Tracker

Updated Aug 2026 · Source: Bank of Korea ECOS

TL;DR: Korea's semiconductor export value index hit 566.4 in Aug 2026 (2020 = 100), up +213.4% from a year earlier. That means Korea earned roughly 5.7 times as much from chip exports as it did in the 2020 baseline year. This page tracks the series every month using Bank of Korea data.

Latest reading: Aug 2026

The Bank of Korea's export value index for semiconductors stands at 566.4, against a 2020 base of 100. Year on year it is +213.4%.

This is the highest reading in the series' history. The index goes back to Jan 2000, roughly 26 years, and no month has been higher. The ten highest monthly readings on record all fall in 2025–2026.

For context, in the same month the index for electronic display devices moved -7.9% year on year, and the index for all Korean exports moved +75.8%. Semiconductors are the single biggest swing factor in Korea's export numbers, which is why this one series moves the country's whole trade balance.

Monthly history

Show:
MonthIndex (2020=100)Year on year
Aug 2026566.4+213.4%
Jul 2026496.7+182.0%
Jun 2026543.7+203.0%
May 2026450.3+172.8%
Apr 2026386.0+178.7%
Mar 2026397.6+155.3%
Feb 2026303.8+165.9%
Jan 2026247.6+105.8%
Dec 2025250.1+44.5%
Nov 2025206.7+39.2%
Oct 2025188.3+26.3%
Sep 2025199.2+22.6%
Aug 2025180.7+28.6%
Jul 2025176.1+32.1%
Jun 2025179.4+11.4%
May 2025165.1+21.3%
Apr 2025138.5+17.3%
Mar 2025155.8+11.2%
Feb 2025114.2-4.0%
Jan 2025120.3+6.6%
Dec 2024173.1+30.6%
Nov 2024148.5+29.8%
Oct 2024149.1+39.1%
Sep 2024162.4+35.7%
Aug 2024140.6+36.5%
Jul 2024133.4+47.8%
Jun 2024161.1+50.3%
May 2024136.2+53.2%
Apr 2024118.1+54.7%
Mar 2024140.1+35.4%
Feb 2024119.0+65.2%
Jan 2024112.9+55.5%
Dec 2023132.5+20.5%
Nov 2023114.4+12.1%
Oct 2023107.2-4.3%
Sep 2023119.7-13.8%
Aug 2023102.9-21.2%
Jul 202390.2-33.7%
Jun 2023107.2-28.0%
May 202388.9-35.7%
Apr 202376.4-41.1%
Mar 2023103.5-34.3%
Feb 202372.0-42.2%
Jan 202372.6-43.8%
Dec 2022110.0-28.2%
Nov 2022102.1-29.3%
Oct 2022112.0-16.7%
Sep 2022138.8-5.1%
Aug 2022130.7-7.0%
Jul 2022136.1+2.7%
Jun 2022148.8+10.2%
May 2022138.2+13.9%
Apr 2022129.6+15.3%
Mar 2022157.4+37.8%
Feb 2022124.5+23.5%
Jan 2022129.3+22.7%
Dec 2021153.2+34.3%
Nov 2021144.4+39.1%
Oct 2021134.3+28.6%
Sep 2021146.3+27.8%

What this index actually measures

It is not a price and it is not a tonnage. The export value index combines both: how much Korea shipped and what it got paid. A reading of 200 means the country earned twice as many dollars from that category as it did across 2020, whether that came from selling more chips, selling them for more, or both.

That distinction matters when you read memory-market headlines. A jump in this index during a memory upcycle is mostly price, not volume — fabs cannot double output in a year, but contract prices can double in months.

Why anyone outside Korea should care

Korea ships a large share of the world's DRAM and NAND, and it reports trade data faster than almost any other major economy. That makes this series an early read on global electronics and AI hardware demand — it tends to move before the quarterly earnings of the companies that buy those chips.

FAQ

How often is this updated?

Monthly. The Bank of Korea publishes the export value index for the prior month, and this page is refreshed when the new figure lands.

Is a rising index the same as rising chip prices?

No. It blends volume and price. In practice, sharp short-term moves are usually price-driven, because manufacturing capacity changes slowly.

Where does the data come from?

The Bank of Korea's ECOS statistics service, table 403Y001 (export value index), item "semiconductors", base year 2020 = 100.

Source: Bank of Korea, ECOS (Economic Statistics System), table 403Y001, export value index, 2020 = 100. Figures retrieved 23 Sep 2026.

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