The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 15 that outbound shipments of Korea’s information and communications technology (ICT) goods in February stood at USD 15.3 billion, recording a year-on-year growth of 11.5 percent. Imports of ICT products expanded 19.3 percent to $9.2 billion, and the trade surplus in this sector was $6.1 billion. Exports of all major items experienced growth except for computers and peripheral devices. Outbound shipments of semiconductors went up 12.5 percent to $8.4 billion. Both memory chips (up 12.6 percent to $5.2 billion) and system chips (up 13.2 percent to $2.7 billion) increased. Those of displays gained 22.3 percent to $1.6 billion. Liquid-crystal display (LCD) panel prices went up, and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel demand rose as the demand for premium smartphone models saw growth. OLED and LCD panels increased 32.9 percent to $840 million and 4.6 percent to $450 million, respectively. Mobile phones shipped overseas experienced a 15.0 percent growth to $1.0 billion. Both finished products (up 5.2 percent to $430 million) and parts (up 23.3 percent to $600 million) went up. Meanwhile, computers and peripheral devices dipped 5.6 percent to $1.1 billion. Computers increased 16.6 percent to $152 million, but peripheral devices such as solid-state drives (SSDs) contracted 8.5 percent to $919 million. By region, the value of Korea’s ICT products shipped to China moved up 13.6 percent to $7.0 billion and expanded for six straight months. Exports of semiconductors, displays, and mobile phones were strong. Those to the United States (U.S.) totaled $1.8 billion, up 6.7 percent. Robust demand for chips and secondary batteries led to the 14th consecutive month of growth. ICT products shipped to the European Union (EU) climbed up 14.0 percent to $929 million thanks to semiconductors, mobile phones, and computers and peripherals. Meanwhile, ICT exports to Vietnam edged down 0.8 percent to $2.3 billion. Displays went up, but semiconductors and mobile phones went down. Those to Japan slowed down 4.3 percent to $321 million due to declines in displays, computers and peripheral devices, and secondary batteries.