SEOUL, June 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's economy posted the fourth-biggest monthly exports of the information and communications technology (ICT) products last month due to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors, a government report showed Monday.
ICT exports jumped 20.6 percent from a year earlier to 18.57 billion U.S. dollars in May, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It was the fourth-biggest ever recorded by the economy in the ICT sector. The ICT exports kept a double-digit gain for 18 months since December 2016.
Semiconductor export surged 43.5 percent to 10.94 billion dollars in May, topping 10 billion dollars for the second time.
Mobile phone shipments gained 4.5 percent to 1.41 billion dollars on the launch of new models, marking the first increase in 26 months.
Outbound shipment for computer and peripherals advanced 28.6 percent to 950 million dollars.
ICT exports to China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, soared 32.7 percent to 10.4 billion dollars, while those to the United States picked up 32.2 percent to 1.78 billion dollars.
Exports of ICT products to the European Union expanded 28.4 percent to 1.01 billion dollars, but those to Vietnam declined 13 percent to 1.91 billion dollars.
Trade surplus in the ICT sector stood at 9.84 billion dollars in May as the ICT imports rose 9 percent to 8.73 billion dollars.
