Exports totaled $56.35 billion, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said on Sunday.
Led by robust semiconductor shipments, the country's exports maintained the longest streak of growth since October last year, despite setbacks in the automotive sector caused by reduced production and weather-related logistical disruptions.
Semiconductor shipments reached $12.5 billion in November, up 30.8 percent from a year earlier and the highest ever for the month. Cumulative semiconductor exports for the first eleven months of this year totaled $127.4 billion, up 45.4 percent from the previous year, also setting a new record.
In contrast, automotive exports dropped 13.6 percent to $5.6 billion on-year. The decline was attributed to strikes at major auto parts manufacturers and weather-related shipping disruptions in the final week of November, which further exacerbated production delays.
The export-driven country's outbound shipments faltered as its main export destinations, the U.S. and China, contracted by 5.1 percent and 0.6 percent.
But imports fell 2.4 percent to $50.74 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5.61 billion, extending the 18th consecutive month of trade surpluses, a streak that began in June last year.
Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun stated, "Strong demand for semiconductors and ships has supported 14 consecutive months of export growth and an 18-month trade surplus. As we approach the year's end, we will utilize all available resources to further boost exports."
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