South Korea’s share of the global export market across six key high-tech strategic industries, including semiconductors, displays, secondary batteries, future vehicles, bio, and robotics, is projected to decline by approximately 25.5 percent in 2022 compared to 2018. As stated in a recent report, this downturn has led to a shift in its ranking behind its competitors.
The Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) released a report on Jan. 21 analyzing the export market share of these six strategic high-tech industries. According to this report, in 2022, Korea’s export market share in these sectors dropped from 8.4 percent to 6.5 percent, representing a 25.5 percent decrease from 2018.
Export market share, which measures a country’s exports against global exports, indicates a country’s export competitiveness. By focusing this comparison on six key high-tech strategic industries, the report offers insights into the global standing of major countries in these high-tech sectors.
During this period, the export market shares of the United States and China declined by 1.3 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, but these reductions were less pronounced than Korea’s decline. In contrast, Taiwan and Germany saw increased export market share gains of 31.8 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.
In 2022, Korea ranked fifth in export market share among the six major countries for these industries. China occupied the top four positions (14.1 percent), followed by Germany (8.3 percent), Taiwan (8.1 percent), and the United States (7.6 percent), while Japan was in sixth place (3.2 percent). In 2018, Korea was second, trailing only behind China.
In terms of dollar value, Korea’s exports from these six industries decreased slightly by 1.2 percent, from $188.4 billion (252 trillion won) in 2018 to $186 billion (248.77 trillion won) in 2022. This decline was mainly due to the decrease in the export market share of semiconductors ($128.5 billion out of $186 billion in 2022), the largest among Korea’s six industries, falling from 13.0 percent in 2018 to 9.4 percent.
The KEF commented, “As global technology competition intensifies with robust government support, the export market share of Korea’s high-tech industries, including semiconductors, is diminishing. The government should continue its recent efforts to establish a national high-tech industrial belt and nurture innovative talent. Additionally, more proactive measures are needed to bolster the competitiveness of high-tech industries and enhance the country’s growth potential. These measures could include easing regulations and increasing tax support.”
