South Korea’s exports of information and communication technology products in 2020 increased 3.8 percent on-year, data showed.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on Monday, exports of ICT products reached $183.6 billion for the whole of 2020, the third-highest amount ever.

Shipments had declined in the first half of the year due to a sharp contraction in global demand during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but bounced back in the following half, largely driven by semiconductors and computer parts, the ministry explained.

Semiconductor exports in 2020 increased 5.4 percent on-year to $100.3 billion, accounting for around 55 percent of the country’s total exports of ICT products. Outbound shipments of non-memory chips, in particular, increased 17.6 percent to reach a record high of $30.3 billion.

Exports of computer products too surged 53.1 percent to $13.9 billion, backed by a strong demand for solid state drives. The country’s exports of SSD products last year doubled to $10.1 billion.

South Korea’s exports of mobile devices, however, slid 6 percent on-year to $11.3 billion. Outbound shipments of displays also fell 5.1 percent to $20.7 billion.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s exports in 2021 are expected to maintain an upward trend, supported by a strong overseas demand for semiconductors and organic light-emitting diode panels, the ICT Ministry projected.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)