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SEOUL, Sept 5 — South Korea's exports have reached $709.4 billion so far this year, surpassing last year's annual record, the customs office said on Saturday, as the economy rides high on booming global demand for AI chips.
The country's exports hit $709.3 billion last year, a second consecutive annual record.
Asia's fourth-largest economy is on track to reach $1 trillion in annual exports this year, becoming the fourth country to hit the milestone after the United States, China and Germany, according to the Korea Customs Service.
South Korean exports surged 69% in August from a year earlier, extending a growth streak to a 15th straight month.
South Korea is home to leading global memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which are benefiting from surging prices as the AI investment boom exacerbates a chip shortage.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue)
