Seoul: South Korea's exports surged 53 percent from a year earlier to a new monthly high of US$87.8 billion in May, driven by the semiconductor supercycle. It marked the third consecutive month the country's outbound shipments surpassed the $80 billion mark.

According to Qatar News Agency, imports rose by 20.8 percent year-on-year, reaching $60.8 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $26.95 billion, as reported by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. Seoul's chip exports soared 169.4 percent on-year to an all-time monthly high of $37.2 billion in May.

On the other hand, auto exports contracted 5.9 percent to $5.83 billion last month. This decline was attributed to a smaller number of working days, disruptions in supplies of auto parts, shipping disruptions amid the Middle East crisis, and the effects from US tariff policy.