Korea Semiconductors
Korea is riding a memory boom: semiconductor exports hit $60.30 billion in September 2026 after growing 209% year on year in August, and chips and SSDs made up 83.7% of ICT exports in H1 2026 (MOTIE). The DDR5 DRAM contract price reached $37.5 per chip in May 2026.
20 verified facts tracked for this market — each with its source, reporting period and evidence tier. Tier 1 = primary institutions (central banks, statistical offices); tier 2 = disclosed industry panels.
| Metric | Value | Geo | Period | Tier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average venture investment per funded Korean company aged 7 years or less | 34.4KRW 100 million | KR | 2026-H1 | T1 | mss.go.kr |
| Korea display exports, year-on-year growth (H1 2026) | 3.8percent | KR | 2026-H1 | T1 | english.motir.go.kr |
| Venture investment into Korean companies aged 3 years or less | 18282KRW 100 million | KR | 2026-H1 | T1 | mss.go.kr |
| Share of semiconductors and SSDs in Korea's ICT exports (H1 2026) | 83.7percent | KR | 2026-H1 | T1 | english.motir.go.kr |
| Total new venture investment in Korea | 88676KRW 100 million | KR | 2026-H1 | T1 | mss.go.kr |
| Korea ICT exports to China including Hong Kong, year-on-year growth (H1 2026) | 141.0percent | CN | 2026-H1 | T1 | english.motir.go.kr |
| Korea semiconductor exports, monthly value (September 2026) | 60.30USD billion | KR | 2026-09 | T1 | english.motie.go.kr |
| Korea computer exports, monthly value and growth (September 2026) | 7.00USD billion | KR | 2026-09 | T1 | english.motie.go.kr |
| Korea semiconductor exports, year-on-year growth (August 2026) | 209percent | KR | 2026-08 | T1 | motie.go.kr |
| South Korea semiconductor export growth year-on-year, June 2026 | 199.5percent | South Korea | 2026-06 | T1 | english.motir.go.kr |
| Korea semiconductor exports, year-on-year growth (June 2026) | 200percent | KR | 2026-06 | T1 | english.motir.go.kr |
| DRAM DDR5 16Gb memory fixed (contract) price | 37.5USD per chip | KR | 2026-05 | T1 | motie.go.kr |
| Korea semiconductor exports annual growth and record export value | 22.2% year-on-year export growth | Korea | 2025 | T1 | english.motir.go.kr |
| Researchers in R&D (per million people) | 9471.82per million people | KR | 2023 | T1 | data.worldbank.org |
| R&D expenditure (% of GDP), South Korea | 4.94% of GDP | KR | 2023 | T1 | data.worldbank.org |
| Resident patent applications filed per year (domestic innovation output) | 186245applications | KR | 2021 | T1 | data.worldbank.org |
| Patent applications, residents | 186245count | KR | 2021 | T1 | data.worldbank.org |
| Korea high-technology exports share of manufactured exports | 35.60% of manufactured exports | KR | 2020 | T1 | data.worldbank.org |
| Samsung Device eXperience division operating loss | 800KRW billion | KR | 2026-Q2 | T2 | koreatimes.co.kr |
| South Korea share of the global semiconductor materials market | 16.6percent | KR | 2024 | T2 | investkorea.org |
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