Exports Fall, But Korean Tech Products in High Demand

Despite South Korean exports falling in April by more than 24 percent amid the global coronavirus crisis, the country’s tech products have been in high demand.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, computer exports doubled in April (year-over-year), while the value of SSD storage exports went up by more than 250 percent. With remote work and study at a new high around the world, and many people relocating to their new office at home, tech and tech accessories were in high demand everywhere and prices for tech products also rose across the board.

Yet, the demand for tech was not enough to prop up exports from South Korea, which had been ailing even before the crisis. The country had experienced a prolonged slump throughout 2019, when every monthly export stat was worse than that of the corresponding 2018 month. In February 2020, year-over-year exports finally increased again, only to stagnate in March and be hit with full force by the coronavirus crisis in April, plunging to new lows.