From semiconductors powering your smartphone to the ships delivering global trade, South Korea's manufacturing prowess is not just impressive but downright essential, as evidenced by a 7.9% surge in automobile production, a commanding 60% of the global shipbuilding market, and a vital $408.7 billion in exports that underpin its economy.
Key Takeaways
- South Korea's manufacturing production index reached 112.4 (2020=100) in December 2023, marking a 1.2% year-on-year increase driven by semiconductors and automobiles
- The value of manufacturing shipments in South Korea totaled 2,345 trillion KRW in 2022, up 4.5% from the previous year
- Capacity utilization rate in Korean manufacturing averaged 75.8% in 2023, with chemicals at 82.1% and machinery at 71.2%
- South Korea's manufacturing employment totaled 4.1 million persons as of December 2023, accounting for 16.5% of total employment
- Average monthly wage in manufacturing was 4.85 million KRW in 2023, 12% higher than all industries average
- Manufacturing labor productivity per worker reached 180 million KRW in 2022, up 3.5% YoY
- South Korea's manufacturing exports reached $408.7 billion in 2023, accounting for 75% of total exports
- Semiconductor exports totaled $128.8 billion in 2023, up 7.7% YoY and 32% of manufacturing exports
- Automobile exports hit $68.3 billion in 2023, with 3.98 million units shipped abroad
- R&D expenditure in manufacturing reached 85 trillion KRW in 2022, 82% of national total R&D
- Manufacturing R&D intensity 5.8% of sales in 2022, highest among industries
- Patent applications from manufacturing firms 120,000 in 2023, 75% of total
- Shipbuilding digital twin R&D projects 50 in 2023
- Samsung Electronics semiconductor revenue $67 billion in Q4 2023 alone
- Hyundai Motor Group produced 4.22 million vehicles in 2023, global #3 passenger car maker
Korea's manufacturing industry experienced broad growth in 2023, led by semiconductors and automobiles.
Employment and Wages
- South Korea's manufacturing employment totaled 4.1 million persons as of December 2023, accounting for 16.5% of total employment
- Average monthly wage in manufacturing was 4.85 million KRW in 2023, 12% higher than all industries average
- Manufacturing labor productivity per worker reached 180 million KRW in 2022, up 3.5% YoY
- Female employment in manufacturing stood at 1.2 million (29% of total manufacturing workforce) in 2023
- Youth (15-29) manufacturing employment 450,000 persons, 11% share in 2023
- R&D personnel in manufacturing firms totaled 420,000 in 2022, 45% of national total
- Average working hours in manufacturing 198 hours/month in 2023, down 2 hours YoY
- Manufacturing unemployment rate 2.8% in 2023, below national 3.5%
- Skilled worker shortage in manufacturing estimated at 25,000 positions in 2023
- Wage premium for manufacturing engineers 25% above average in 2023
- Contract workers in manufacturing 850,000 (21% of workforce) in 2023
- Manufacturing employment in SMEs 2.8 million (68%) vs large firms 1.3 million in 2023
- Regional manufacturing employment: Gyeonggi-do 1.5 million, Chungcheong 650,000 in 2023
- Automotive sector employed 320,000 in 2023
- Semiconductor industry workforce 250,000 direct jobs in 2023
- Shipbuilding employment 180,000 in 2023, up 5% YoY
- Chemical manufacturing jobs 420,000 in 2023
- Electronics assembly employment 900,000 in 2023
- Steel industry direct employment 120,000 in 2023
- Labor cost index in manufacturing rose 4.2% YoY to 112.5 in 2023
- Unionization rate in manufacturing 18% with 750,000 members in 2023
- Manufacturing trainee numbers 150,000 under vocational programs in 2023
- Foreign workers in manufacturing 450,000 (11% of workforce) in 2023
- Wage growth in manufacturing 3.8% in 2023
- Part-time manufacturing employment 350,000 (8.5%) in 2023
- Manufacturing employment growth 1.2% YoY in 2023
Employment and Wages Interpretation
South Korea's manufacturing sector is a high-powered, slightly overworked engine of the economy, where fewer workers commanding premium wages are driving impressive productivity, yet it's nervously checking the rearview mirror at a growing skilled labor shortage and a reliance on temporary and foreign workers to keep the assembly lines humming.
Export Performance
- South Korea's manufacturing exports reached $408.7 billion in 2023, accounting for 75% of total exports
- Semiconductor exports totaled $128.8 billion in 2023, up 7.7% YoY and 32% of manufacturing exports
- Automobile exports hit $68.3 billion in 2023, with 3.98 million units shipped abroad
- Petroleum products exports $95.2 billion in 2023, 23% of total manufacturing exports
- Ship exports value $42.5 billion in 2023, 65% global market share by CGT
- Display panels exports $35.6 billion in 2023, led by OLED to China and US
- Steel products exports 25.8 million tons valued at $38.4 billion in 2023
- Battery exports surged to $16.5 billion in 2023, +30.1% YoY for EV batteries
- Machinery exports $55.2 billion in 2023, up 5.4% YoY
- Chemical products exports $28.7 billion in 2023
- Top export destination US: $115 billion manufacturing goods in 2023
- China manufacturing exports $125 billion in 2023, down 8% YoY
- Vietnam received $25.6 billion Korean manufacturing exports in 2023
- EU manufacturing exports $45.3 billion in 2023
- Wireless communication devices exports $22.4 billion in 2023
- Auto parts exports $40.1 billion in 2023
- LNG carriers exported 75 units worth $12 billion in 2023
- Memory chips exports $70 billion in 2023
- Flat panel displays to China $18 billion in 2023
- Refined petroleum to Asia $80 billion in 2023
- Export dependency ratio for manufacturing 92% in 2023
- Manufacturing export growth to India 15% to $10 billion in 2023
- Mexico manufacturing exports $15.2 billion in 2023
- Australia received $12.5 billion in 2023
- Japan manufacturing exports $20.1 billion down 10% in 2023
- Semiconductors to US $25 billion in 2023
- Cars to US 1.5 million units $30 billion in 2023
- Manufacturing manufacturing export price index 105.2 in 2023
- Top 10 items 80% of manufacturing exports in 2023
Export Performance Interpretation
South Korea’s manufacturing sector might as well be its national identity, given that it relentlessly sends three-quarters of its total exports abroad—fueled largely by a semiconductor monopoly, a fleet of cars and ships, and a heavy reliance on volatile markets like China and the US, which is a brilliant yet precarious way to run an economy.
Production Volume and Capacity
- South Korea's manufacturing production index reached 112.4 (2020=100) in December 2023, marking a 1.2% year-on-year increase driven by semiconductors and automobiles
- The value of manufacturing shipments in South Korea totaled 2,345 trillion KRW in 2022, up 4.5% from the previous year
- Capacity utilization rate in Korean manufacturing averaged 75.8% in 2023, with chemicals at 82.1% and machinery at 71.2%
- Industrial production in manufacturing grew by 2.8% YoY in Q4 2023, led by electrical equipment at 5.1%
- South Korea produced 4.2 million tons of crude steel in December 2023, a 3.1% increase YoY
- Semiconductor fabrication capacity in Korea reached 25% of global total in 2023, with Samsung and SK Hynix leading
- Automobile production hit 4.22 million units in 2023, up 7.9% YoY, with exports at 3.98 million
- Shipbuilding orders for Korean yards totaled 1,200 vessels (45 million CGT) in 2023, 60% of global market
- Petrochemical production capacity expanded to 52 million tons per year by 2023
- Display panel production in Korea accounted for 45% of global LCD and 90% OLED in 2023
- Manufacturing value added (MVA) in South Korea was $450 billion in 2022 at constant prices
- Fabricated metal products output grew 3.2% YoY to 180 trillion KRW in 2023
- Battery production capacity reached 1,200 GWh annually by end-2023, led by LG Energy Solution
- Cement production totaled 52.5 million tons in 2023, down 2.1% YoY
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing sales hit 30 trillion KRW in 2022, up 8.5%
- Food manufacturing production index at 108.5 (2020=100) in 2023
- Rubber and plastics output value 120 trillion KRW in 2023, +4.2% YoY
- Non-metallic minerals production up 1.8% to 95 trillion KRW
- Basic metals shipment value 450 trillion KRW in 2022
- Computer/electronic/peripheral equipment production index 115.2 in Dec 2023
- Electrical equipment production grew 4.1% YoY in 2023
- Machinery production index 102.3 (2020=100) average 2023
- Transport equipment output 550 trillion KRW in 2023
- Furniture manufacturing value added 15 trillion KRW, +2.5%
- Textile production down 1.5% to 40 trillion KRW in 2023
- Apparel manufacturing shipments 25 trillion KRW
- Leather goods production value 5 trillion KRW in 2023
- Wood products output 12 trillion KRW, up 1.2%
- Paper/pulp production 18 million tons in 2023
- Printing/publishing value 10 trillion KRW
Production Volume and Capacity Interpretation
While semiconductors and cars are leading the charge, South Korea's manufacturing sector is proving it's far more than just a two-hit wonder, flexing robust growth across everything from batteries to shipbuilding, albeit with a few textile struggles and some untapped factory capacity holding back the full encore.
R&D and Innovation
- R&D expenditure in manufacturing reached 85 trillion KRW in 2022, 82% of national total R&D
- Manufacturing R&D intensity 5.8% of sales in 2022, highest among industries
- Patent applications from manufacturing firms 120,000 in 2023, 75% of total
- Semiconductor R&D investment $25 billion in 2023 by Samsung and SK Hynix
- Government R&D grants to manufacturing 20 trillion KRW in 2023
- AI-related patents in manufacturing 15,000 granted in 2023
- EV battery R&D spending 10 trillion KRW in 2022 by LG, Samsung SDI, SK
- Number of manufacturing R&D centers 12,500 in 2023
- Robotics R&D investment 2.5 trillion KRW in 2023
- Biotech manufacturing R&D 5 trillion KRW in 2023
- 6G communication R&D by manufacturing firms 1.2 trillion KRW
- Hydrogen tech R&D in manufacturing 800 billion KRW in 2023
- Manufacturing tech transfer deals 4,500 cases valued at 3 trillion KRW in 2023
- ISO 9001 certifications in manufacturing 25,000 firms in 2023
- Venture firms in manufacturing 8,200 backed by R&D funds in 2023
- Quantum computing R&D patents 500 from Korean manufacturing in 2023
- Manufacturing digital transformation investment 15 trillion KRW in 2023
- Collaborative R&D projects between firms and universities 2,800 in 2023
- R&D tax credits claimed by manufacturing 12 trillion KRW in 2022
- Global R&D rankings: Korea #1 in semiconductor patents per GDP
- Manufacturing innovation clusters 17 established with 10 trillion KRW investment
- 5G equipment R&D 1.5 trillion KRW in 2023
- Green tech R&D in manufacturing 7 trillion KRW in 2023
- Nanotechnology patents from manufacturing 8,000 in 2023
- Smart factory adoption R&D 3 trillion KRW, 30% factories upgraded by 2023
- Automobile sector R&D 12 trillion KRW in 2022
- Electronics R&D intensity 8.2% of sales for Samsung Electronics in 2023
R&D and Innovation Interpretation
South Korea's manufacturing sector, armed with a colossal 85 trillion won war chest and led by semiconductor titans spending like crypto billionaires, has essentially bet the national farm on out-inventing the world, with every factory floor becoming a skunkworks and every patent a prayer for future dominance.
Sector-Specific Metrics
- Shipbuilding digital twin R&D projects 50 in 2023
- Samsung Electronics semiconductor revenue $67 billion in Q4 2023 alone
- Hyundai Motor Group produced 4.22 million vehicles in 2023, global #3 passenger car maker
- POSCO Holdings crude steel production 38.4 million tons in 2023
- SK Hynix DRAM market share 28% globally in 2023
- LG Energy Solution battery capacity 200 GWh operational in 2023
- Samsung Display OLED panels 60 million smartphone units in 2023
- HD Hyundai Heavy Industries delivered 25 LNG carriers in 2023
- SK Innovation petrochemical ethylene capacity 2.1 million tons/year
- LG Chem battery cathode material 80% global market share in 2023
- Kia Corporation exports 800,000 units to North America in 2023
- Hynix NAND flash production 20% global share in 2023
- Samsung Biologics CDMO revenue $1.5 billion in 2023
- Doosan Heavy Industries gas turbine orders $3 billion in 2023
- LS Electric industrial robot sales 5,000 units in 2023
- Hanwha Solutions solar module capacity 2.4 GW in 2023
- CJ CheilJedang food exports $2.5 billion in 2023
- Hyundai Steel automotive steel supply 12 million tons/year capacity
- Amorepacific cosmetics manufacturing 500 million units/year
- GS Caltex refining capacity 43 million barrels/year in 2023
- Samsung SDI EV battery shipments 100 GWh in 2023
- HMM shipbuilding new orders 50 vessels in 2023
- Lotte Chemical PTA production 2.8 million tons/year
- GM Korea (Daewoo) production 500,000 vehicles for export in 2023
- Celltrion biosimilar manufacturing capacity 240,000 liters
- Korea Aerospace Industries K9 howitzer exports 200 units in 2023
- FKI shipbuilding backlog 1,000 vessels worth $100 billion as of 2023
Sector-Specific Metrics Interpretation
One would be hard-pressed to find a nation better at industrious diversification, where building the future involves both constructing a colossal ship and printing a microscopic transistor, all while ensuring you can drive your car to buy both cosmetics and kimchi.
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