South Korea September exports hit record $120.94B, chip exports up 262.8%

The scale of the semiconductor surge is the real story: chips alone now account for roughly half of monthly exports, a concentration that makes the trade headline a proxy for AI-driven demand rather than broad-based strength. For crypto and RWA markets, that matters indirectly — Korea is a bellwether for global liquidity and tech capex cycles that historically correlate with risk appetite. The open question is whether chip exports can keep compounding at this pace, or whether the record reflects a pull-forward that flattens into year-end.