Things are not looking so good for the country's exporting sector... as South Korea's exports of Information and Communications Technology products have continued to fall since November of last year.
KIM Da-mi explains.
South Korea's exports of ICT products declined once again in February,...mainly due to sluggish overseas sales of semiconductors.
According to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, a total of 12.7 billion U.S. dollars worth of ICT products were exported overseas last month,...down 19 percent from a year earlier.
This is the fourth month in a row that ICT exports have fallen.
By item, the country's main export, semiconductors, slipped by around 25 percent on-year,...caused by falling global prices and lower demand for system semiconductors.
Heated global competition against other exporters including China has led to a decline in exports of displays,... especially LCD panels.
Exports of OLED panels, on the other hand, jumped by around 8 percent on-year.
Although overseas sales of mobile handsets and related parts plunged by around 13 percent last month, exports of finished mobile phones increased,...thanks to premium phones released early this year.
By region, ICT exports to China, including Hong Kong, dropped around 30 percent,... whereas sales to the U.S. increased by 21 percent.
KIM Da-mi, Arirang News.