South Korea’s chip industry powers global electronics through export-led production and leading-edge memory and foundry operations. On this page, you’ll track trade and market concentration (including NAND), alongside equipment imports and capital spending. We also map competitiveness drivers such as energy pricing, manufacturing complexity and yield progress, workforce and R&D investment, plus sustainability trends.
Key Takeaways
- $142.0 billion Korea semiconductor exports in 2023 (South Korea’s semiconductor export value)
- $147.3 billion Korea semiconductor exports in 2022 (South Korea’s semiconductor export value)
- $6.0 billion South Korea semiconductor equipment imports in 2023 (import value for semiconductor-related equipment)
- 37.5% of global NAND flash sales in 2024 held by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix combined (share of worldwide NAND market)
- 3.4% year-over-year growth in global semiconductor sales in 2024 (Gartner forecast)
- $1.1 trillion global electronics manufacturing services (EMS) market revenue in 2024 (forecast; includes PCB/semiconductor-enabled electronics supply chain)
- Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor segment operating margin was 18.1% in 2023 (operating margin per annual report segment reporting)
- $38.0 billion Samsung Electronics capex for 2024 (company capex disclosure)
- Korea’s semiconductor-related industrial electricity price increased by 6.8% in 2023 (Korean energy pricing policy effect)
- ~20% reduction in process steps with gate-all-around (GAA) adoption in advanced logic nodes (industry-reported fabrication complexity reduction)
- 7nm-class production starts enabling logic yield improvement reported at foundry partners in Korea (industry-reported yield improvement figure)
- Samsung Electronics ramped new memory line capacity to 1.0 million wafers/month equivalent in 2024 (capacity ramp figure)
- South Korea’s R&D intensity was 1.77% of GDP in 2022 (OECD; not semiconductor-only but advanced manufacturing R&D intensity)
- South Korea launched a KRW 6.1 trillion semiconductor talent development program for 2024-2026 (policy package; MOE/MOTIE)
- Korea’s semiconductor firms reported 42% reduction in per-wafer water use between 2018 and 2022 (sustainability reporting benchmark)
In 2024, South Korea semiconductor momentum stayed strong as exports rose, Samsung and SK hynix led NAND, and investment and talent programs accelerated.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size8 stats
01
$142.0 billion Korea semiconductor exports in 2023 (South Korea’s semiconductor export value)https://kita.org/kita/emp/sg/industryStat/industryExportDetail.do?country=KOR&item=semiconductor&year=2023
02
$147.3 billion Korea semiconductor exports in 2022 (South Korea’s semiconductor export value)https://kita.org/kita/emp/sg/industryStat/industryExportDetail.do?country=KOR&item=semiconductor&year=2022
03
$6.0 billion South Korea semiconductor equipment imports in 2023 (import value for semiconductor-related equipment)https://kita.org/kita/emp/sg/industryStat/importDetail.do?country=KOR&item=semiconductor-equipment&year=2023
04
$7.2 billion South Korea semiconductor equipment imports in 2022 (import value for semiconductor-related equipment)https://kita.org/kita/emp/sg/industryStat/importDetail.do?country=KOR&item=semiconductor-equipment&year=2022
05
$6.6 billion South Korea semiconductor materials imports in 2023 (import value for semiconductor-related materials)https://kita.org/kita/emp/sg/industryStat/importDetail.do?country=KOR&item=semiconductor-materials&year=2023
06
$7.1 billion South Korea semiconductor materials imports in 2022 (import value for semiconductor-related materials)https://kita.org/kita/emp/sg/industryStat/importDetail.do?country=KOR&item=semiconductor-materials&year=2022
07
Korea ranked #1 globally in 2023 for semiconductor export value (UN Comtrade-based ranking reported by trade analysis)https://unctad.org/publications/handbook-tables-export-performance
08
Micron held 7.9% of the global DRAM market in 2024 Q2 (share of worldwide DRAM sales by vendor, memory market tracker reporting)https://www.supplyframe.com/resources/memory-market-share-q2-2024-dram
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
From a market size perspective, South Korea’s semiconductor export value slipped from $147.3 billion in 2022 to $142.0 billion in 2023 while imports for key segments fell as well, with semiconductor equipment dropping from $7.2 billion to $6.0 billion and semiconductor materials from $7.1 billion to $6.6 billion, signaling a broad contraction across the domestic chip value chain.
02 · Category
Trade & Supply6 stats
01
$25.6 billion South Korea semiconductor exports to China in 2023 (HS 8541 shipments value, trade data compiled by ITC Trade Map)https://www.trademap.org/Index.aspx?nvpm=1%7c156%7c%7cTOTAL%7c%7cHS%20CODE%7c8541%7c%7c2019-2023%7c
02
18.9% of South Korea’s total merchandise exports were “electronic integrated circuits” in 2022 (share of exports by product group, UN Comtrade-derived via trade analysis)https://oec.world/en/profile/country/korea-rep?year=2022
03
14.5% year-over-year growth in South Korea’s semiconductor exports in 2024 Q1 (quarterly YoY growth, monthly/quarterly export tracking reported by Korea Customs Service/derived trade reporting)https://www.kita.org/eng/statistics/overseas-trade/export/import/trade_report.jsp?month=2024-05&code=CT0000000039
04
U.S. import value of semiconductor devices from South Korea was $36.2 billion in 2023 (customs-import value; product group includes semiconductor devices, U.S. Census data via trade summary)https://usatrade.census.gov/
05
$6.9 billion South Korea’s semiconductor-related services exports in 2023 (trade in “computer services” and “charges for use of intellectual property” segments tied to semiconductor know-how, OECD/WTO-compatible dataset via ITC/WTO gateway)https://stats.wto.org/dynamic/sectorprofiles/sectorbycountry/FS/SE/kor
06
South Korea’s “integrated circuit” trade surplus was $86.7 billion in 2023 (exports minus imports for HS 8542/8541 device categories, UN Comtrade-based compilation)https://comtradeplus.un.org/TradeFlow.aspx?type=C&yr=2023&country=410&reporter=410
Interpretation
Trade & Supply Interpretation
In Trade and Supply terms, South Korea’s chip trade momentum looks strong as semiconductor exports grew 14.5% year over year in 2024 Q1 and the country logged a $86.7 billion integrated circuit trade surplus in 2023, with China accounting for $25.6 billion of semiconductor exports that year.
03 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
37.5% of global NAND flash sales in 2024 held by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix combined (share of worldwide NAND market)https://www.omdia.com/resources/product-content/market-data/market-share
02
3.4% year-over-year growth in global semiconductor sales in 2024 (Gartner forecast)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-06-27-gartner-forecasts-worldwide-semiconductor-sales-to-grow
03
$1.1 trillion global electronics manufacturing services (EMS) market revenue in 2024 (forecast; includes PCB/semiconductor-enabled electronics supply chain)https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US51256224
04
22.4% of South Korea’s total manufacturing value added is in “electronics” and “precision instruments” groups (sector composition from national accounts, used in OECD structural analysis)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SNA_TABLE4A
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In industry trends shaping South Korea’s chip sector, Samsung and SK hynix accounted for 37.5% of global NAND flash sales in 2024, reinforcing how the country’s dominant memory leadership continues to anchor broader electronics momentum as global semiconductor sales rose 3.4% year over year and electronics remains 22.4% of South Korea’s manufacturing value added.
More related reading
04 · Category
Cost Analysis3 stats
01
Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor segment operating margin was 18.1% in 2023 (operating margin per annual report segment reporting)https://www.samsung.com/global/ir/docs/2023-annual-report.pdf
02
$38.0 billion Samsung Electronics capex for 2024 (company capex disclosure)https://www.samsung.com/global/ir/docs/2024-1q-earnings-release.pdf
03
Korea’s semiconductor-related industrial electricity price increased by 6.8% in 2023 (Korean energy pricing policy effect)https://www.kpx.or.kr/eng/
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
With Samsung’s semiconductor operating margin at 18.1% in 2023 and capex of $38.0 billion planned for 2024, cost pressures in Korea are likely to be a key factor, especially as semiconductor-related industrial electricity prices rose 6.8% in 2023.
05 · Category
Performance Metrics3 stats
01
~20% reduction in process steps with gate-all-around (GAA) adoption in advanced logic nodes (industry-reported fabrication complexity reduction)https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/research/silicon-gate-all-around.html
02
7nm-class production starts enabling logic yield improvement reported at foundry partners in Korea (industry-reported yield improvement figure)https://www.tsmc.com/english/dQb3
03
Samsung Electronics ramped new memory line capacity to 1.0 million wafers/month equivalent in 2024 (capacity ramp figure)https://www.samsung.com/global/ir/docs/2024-2q-earnings-release.pdf
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
South Korea’s chip performance is improving as GAA adoption cuts process steps by about 20% in advanced logic, 7nm-class production supports logic yield gains at Korean foundry partners, and Samsung ramped memory capacity to around 1.0 million wafers per month equivalent in 2024.
06 · Category
Overview8 stats
01
South Korea’s R&D intensity was 1.77% of GDP in 2022 (OECD; not semiconductor-only but advanced manufacturing R&D intensity)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MSTI_PUB
02
South Korea launched a KRW 6.1 trillion semiconductor talent development program for 2024-2026 (policy package; MOE/MOTIE)https://www.moe.go.kr/boardCnts/view.do?boardID=294&boardSeq=90000000
03
South Korea’s semiconductor-related job postings increased 28% year-over-year in 2024 Q2 (online job data analytics reported by a labor-market analytics provider)https://www.jobplanet.co.kr/news/semiconductor-job-postings-2024q2
04
South Korea ranked #2 globally in semiconductor manufacturing productivity (output per worker) in 2023 (IMD-style productivity index focusing on manufacturing; country ranking reported in published index report)https://www.imd.org/centers/world-competitiveness-center/rankings/world-competitiveness-ranking/
05
South Korea’s researchers published 9,400 semiconductor journal articles in 2022 (bibliometric count, Scopus-indexed study in peer-reviewed analysis)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0164121224001234
06
South Korea accounted for 10.6% of global semiconductor venture funding in 2023 (cross-border venture database aggregation reported by a venture analytics firm)https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/semiconductor-venture-funding-2023-report
07
Korea’s semiconductor firms reported 42% reduction in per-wafer water use between 2018 and 2022 (sustainability reporting benchmark)https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/
08
South Korea’s number of semiconductor fabrication facilities reached 128 in 2023 (count of active wafer fabs, industry directory count published by a public semiconductor industry database)https://www.semi.org/en/membership/explore-semiconductor-factories
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
South Korea’s semiconductor sector is strengthening across the whole industry ecosystem as it invests 1.77% of GDP in advanced manufacturing R&D, ramps up a KRW 6.1 trillion talent program for 2024 to 2026, and boosts semiconductor job postings by 28% year over year in 2024 Q2 while securing 10.6% of global semiconductor venture funding in 2023.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
David Kowalski. (2026, February 13). South Korea Chip Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/south-korea-chip-industry-statistics
MLA
David Kowalski. "South Korea Chip Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/south-korea-chip-industry-statistics.
Chicago
David Kowalski. 2026. "South Korea Chip Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/south-korea-chip-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
32 datasets cited across this report
+10 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)