South Korean exports of information and communication technology products increased for the seventh month to hit an all-time high in August on brisk overseas sales of semiconductors and displays, government data showed Wednesday.

A total of $17.4 billion worth of ICT products were shipped overseas, up 23.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The monthly overseas shipments of ICT products is a new high surpassing the previous $16.53 billion record tallied in October 2013, the ministry said.

ICT imports also jumped 13.3 percent on-year to $8.6 billion last month, with the country logging a trade surplus of $8.88 billion in the sector, the latest data showed. 

The ministry said rising overseas demand for South Korean computer chips, display panels and computers contributed to the surge, offsetting the weak exports of mobile phones.

Exports of semiconductors made by Asia's fourth-largest economy soared 59.8 percent on-year to an unprecedented $8.93 billion last month, mainly on the back of the increasing market price of NAND flash memories and rising demand, the ministry said.

The ministry said exports of displays increased 7.6 percent on-year in August to advance for 10 months in a row, helped by rising demand for organic light-emitting diode TVs and LCD parts.

Overseas shipments of computers and computer equipment also increased 16 percent on-year last month on the back of record-high shipments of South Korean-made solid state drives, the ministry said. The overseas shipments of SSDs in August skyrocketed 57.6 percent on-year.

Combined overseas sales of mobile handsets and parts, however, decreased 24.4 percent to $1.64 billion last month from a year earlier, the data showed.

By region, shipments to China, Vietnam, the United States and the European Union increased 20.6 percent, 50.6 percent, 18.7 percent and 19.3 percent, respectively, on-year in the cited month, the data showed. (Yonhap)