While South Korea's chemical industry powers everything from smartphones to electric vehicles with staggering scale—producing over 57 million tons of petrochemicals and generating a colossal KRW 180 trillion in annual revenue—its true story is one of strategic transformation, where giants like LG Chem and Lotte Chemical are pivoting billions in R&D investment toward sustainable and high-tech materials to secure its future.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, South Korea's petrochemical production reached 57.2 million tons, marking a 3.5% increase from 2021
- Ethylene production capacity in South Korea stood at 11.8 million tons per year as of 2023, with LG Chem contributing 2.95 million tons
- Propylene production in South Korea totaled 8.4 million tons in 2022, up 4.2% year-on-year
- The South Korean chemical industry generated KRW 180 trillion in sales revenue in 2022
- Basic chemicals accounted for 45% of total chemical sales at KRW 81 trillion in 2022
- Specialty chemicals sales reached KRW 42 trillion in 2022, up 5.2% YoY
- South Korea's chemical exports totaled USD 112.5 billion in 2022, up 9.3% YoY
- Chemical imports reached USD 85.4 billion in 2022, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 27.1 billion
- China was the top destination for Korean chemical exports at USD 38.2 billion in 2022
- The chemical industry employed 320,000 workers in 2022
- LG Chem had 24,000 employees in its chemical division as of 2022
- Lotte Chemical employed 12,500 people in 2022
- South Korea's chemical R&D expenditure reached KRW 15.2 trillion in 2022, 8.4% of sales
- Patents filed in chemicals totaled 12,500 in 2022
- Government funding for chemical R&D was KRW 1.8 trillion in 2022
South Korea's chemical industry grew significantly in 2022 with strong production and export figures.
Employment and Companies
- The chemical industry employed 320,000 workers in 2022
- LG Chem had 24,000 employees in its chemical division as of 2022
- Lotte Chemical employed 12,500 people in 2022
- Hanwha Solutions chemical workforce was 8,200 in 2022
- SK Innovation chemicals employed 7,800 staff in 2022
- There were 15,200 chemical manufacturing companies in South Korea in 2022
- Petrochemical sector had 250 major plants operating in 2022
- Average salary in chemical industry was KRW 68 million per year in 2022
- R&D personnel in chemicals numbered 45,000 in 2022
- Female employment rate in chemicals was 28% in 2022
- Hyosung Chemical employed 3,200 people in 2022
- Kumho Petrochemical had 2,100 employees in 2022
- S-Oil chemical division staff was 1,500 in 2022
- GS Caltex employed 4,000 in petrochemicals in 2022
- Chemical industry labor productivity was KRW 560 million per worker in 2022
- SMEs in chemicals numbered 14,900 with 150,000 employees in 2022
- Top 10 chemical firms accounted for 65% of industry employment in 2022
- Vocational training programs trained 12,000 chemical workers in 2022
- Injury rate in chemical plants was 0.45 per 100 workers in 2022
- Foreign workers in chemicals totaled 15,000 in 2022
- Engineering graduates entering chemicals: 8,500 in 2022
- Chemical R&D investment by companies was KRW 12 trillion in 2022
- Unionized workforce in chemicals was 180,000 members in 2022
- Part-time employment in chemical sector: 25,000 in 2022
Employment and Companies Interpretation
Behind the impressive facade of 320,000 jobs and KRW 68 million salaries lies an industry of startling contrasts, where a handful of giants like LG Chem and Lotte Chemical dominate the workforce, over 14,000 SMEs scramble for talent, men overwhelmingly outnumber women, and the push for innovation with 45,000 R&D personnel coexists with a surprisingly low injury rate of 0.45.
Market and Sales
- The South Korean chemical industry generated KRW 180 trillion in sales revenue in 2022
- Basic chemicals accounted for 45% of total chemical sales at KRW 81 trillion in 2022
- Specialty chemicals sales reached KRW 42 trillion in 2022, up 5.2% YoY
- Petrochemicals contributed KRW 120 trillion to industry revenue in 2022
- LG Chem's chemical sales were KRW 35.4 trillion in 2022
- Lotte Chemical reported KRW 28.7 trillion in sales from chemicals in 2022
- Hanwha Solutions chemical division revenue hit KRW 15.2 trillion in 2022
- SK Innovation's chemical sales totaled KRW 12.8 trillion in 2022
- Total chemical product sales volume was 92 million tons in 2022
- Domestic chemical market size estimated at USD 150 billion in 2023
- Polymer sales accounted for 35% of total chemical revenue in 2022
- Fine chemicals segment grew to KRW 18 trillion in sales in 2022
- Chemical exports contributed 12% to total national exports at USD 120 billion in 2022
- Average chemical product price index rose 8.5% in 2022
- Paint and ink sales reached KRW 9.5 trillion in 2022
- Fertilizer sales volume was 5.2 million tons valued at KRW 4.1 trillion in 2022
- Synthetic fiber sales hit KRW 22 trillion in 2022
- Adhesives and sealants market was KRW 3.8 trillion in 2022
- The chemical industry's market share in manufacturing was 8.2% in 2022
- OLED materials sales by Korean firms reached KRW 5.6 trillion in 2022
- Battery materials chemical sales surged to KRW 10.2 trillion in 2022
- Plastic products sales totaled KRW 45 trillion in 2022
- Rubber products revenue was KRW 28 trillion in 2022
- Chemical wholesale trade volume grew 4.1% to KRW 250 trillion in 2022
- E-commerce chemical sales increased 15% to KRW 2.5 trillion in 2022
Market and Sales Interpretation
While South Korea's chemical industry is built on a KRW 81 trillion mountain of basic chemicals, its future is being written in the dynamic, high-value ink of OLED screens, surging battery materials, and even a surprising KRW 2.5 trillion slice of e-commerce sales.
Production and Capacity
- In 2022, South Korea's petrochemical production reached 57.2 million tons, marking a 3.5% increase from 2021
- Ethylene production capacity in South Korea stood at 11.8 million tons per year as of 2023, with LG Chem contributing 2.95 million tons
- Propylene production in South Korea totaled 8.4 million tons in 2022, up 4.2% year-on-year
- South Korea's benzene production capacity was 7.2 million tons annually in 2023
- Polyethylene (PE) production volume hit 4.9 million tons in 2022, a 2.8% rise
- Polypropylene (PP) output reached 3.7 million tons in 2022
- PVC production in South Korea was 1.8 million tons in 2022, increasing by 1.5%
- ABS resin production totaled 1.2 million tons in 2022
- Toluene production capacity stands at 2.1 million tons per year in 2023
- Xylene isomers production reached 4.5 million tons in 2022
- Methanol production capacity in South Korea is 1.5 million tons annually as of 2023
- Ammonia production volume was 2.3 million tons in 2022
- Urea output hit 1.9 million tons in 2022, up 2.1%
- Synthetic rubber production totaled 1.1 million tons in 2022
- Polystyrene (PS) production was 0.95 million tons in 2022
- PET resin production capacity is 2.4 million tons per year in 2023
- Acrylonitrile production reached 0.45 million tons in 2022
- Adipic acid output was 0.32 million tons in 2022
- Caprolactam production totaled 0.28 million tons in 2022
- Phenol production capacity stands at 1.2 million tons annually
- Acetone production was 0.65 million tons in 2022
- Cumene output reached 1.1 million tons in 2022
- Styrene monomer production totaled 2.8 million tons in 2022
- Butadiene production capacity is 1.9 million tons per year in 2023
- VCM (vinyl chloride monomer) production was 2.1 million tons in 2022
- HDPE production volume hit 2.3 million tons in 2022
- LLDPE output was 1.6 million tons in 2022
- PP homopolymer production reached 2.1 million tons in 2022
- Ethylene glycol (EG) production totaled 1.4 million tons in 2022
- Paraxylene (PX) capacity stands at 3.2 million tons per year in 2023
Production and Capacity Interpretation
South Korea's chemical industry is not just cooking with gas, it's serving a staggering multi-course meal of polymers and precursors, with LG Chem alone dishing up a quarter of the national ethylene.
R&D and Sustainability
- South Korea's chemical R&D expenditure reached KRW 15.2 trillion in 2022, 8.4% of sales
- Patents filed in chemicals totaled 12,500 in 2022
- Government funding for chemical R&D was KRW 1.8 trillion in 2022
- LG Chem invested KRW 3.5 trillion in chemical R&D in 2022
- Lotte Chemical R&D spend was KRW 1.2 trillion in 2022
- Bio-chemical R&D projects numbered 450 in 2022
- Green chemistry initiatives funded at KRW 0.9 trillion in 2022
- Carbon capture tech in chemicals: 15 pilot plants in 2022
- Renewable chemical production capacity: 0.5 million tons targeted by 2025
- CO2 emissions from chemicals: 120 million tons in 2022, down 2% YoY
- Energy efficiency improvement: 15% since 2015 in chemical plants by 2022
- Recycled plastic production: 2.1 million tons in 2022
- Hydrogen production R&D investment: KRW 0.7 trillion in 2022
- Battery material innovations: 2,500 patents filed in 2022
- Sustainable polymer R&D budget: KRW 2.1 trillion in 2022
- Water usage reduction: 20% in chemical industry by 2022 vs 2018
- Zero-waste chemical plants: 45 operational in 2022
- Bio-based chemical sales: USD 1.2 billion in 2022
- R&D centers in chemicals: 320 facilities in 2022
- International collaborations: 180 R&D projects in 2022
- GHG reduction target: 40% by 2030, with 12% achieved by 2022
- Nanomaterial chemical patents: 1,800 in 2022
- Clean energy chemical tech investment: KRW 1.5 trillion in 2022
R&D and Sustainability Interpretation
It's clear South Korea's chemical industry is betting big on brains, pouring billions into R&D to turn everything from petrochemicals to plastics into a future where its massive CO2 footprint becomes a ghost town chased away by legions of patents and pilot plants.
Trade and Exports
- South Korea's chemical exports totaled USD 112.5 billion in 2022, up 9.3% YoY
- Chemical imports reached USD 85.4 billion in 2022, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 27.1 billion
- China was the top destination for Korean chemical exports at USD 38.2 billion in 2022
- Exports of petrochemicals to China hit USD 25.6 billion in 2022
- US chemical exports from South Korea totaled USD 12.4 billion in 2022
- EU imports of Korean chemicals were USD 11.8 billion in 2022
- Japan received USD 8.7 billion in chemical exports from South Korea in 2022
- Vietnam chemical imports from Korea reached USD 7.5 billion in 2022
- India imported USD 4.2 billion worth of Korean chemicals in 2022
- Polyethylene exports totaled 3.2 million tons valued at USD 5.1 billion in 2022
- Polypropylene exports were 2.8 million tons at USD 4.3 billion in 2022
- PVC exports hit 1.5 million tons worth USD 2.2 billion in 2022
- ABS exports reached 0.9 million tons valued at USD 1.8 billion in 2022
- Synthetic rubber exports totaled 0.7 million tons at USD 1.4 billion in 2022
- PET exports were 1.2 million tons worth USD 1.6 billion in 2022
- Chemical imports from China were USD 42.3 billion in 2022
- Crude oil imports for chemical feedstock totaled 450 million barrels in 2022, valued at USD 35 billion
- Naphtha imports reached 28 million tons at USD 22 billion in 2022
- Ethylene imports were minimal at 0.1 million tons in 2022
- Battery chemical exports surged 25% to USD 15 billion in 2022
- OLED material exports hit USD 4.5 billion in 2022
- Fertilizer exports totaled USD 1.2 billion in 2022
- Paint exports reached USD 2.8 billion in 2022
Trade and Exports Interpretation
While clearly still addicted to imported Chinese chemicals and Gulf oil, South Korea’s industry is masterfully refining them into a sprawling plastic kingdom and high-tech chemical empire that dominates Asia and exports a $27 billion trade surplus back home.
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