South Korea's exports climbed 62.8 percent year-on-year to $98.89 billion in July, the second-highest monthly total ever recorded, falling just short of the all-time high of $102.2 billion set in June, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. Semiconductor shipments — the cornerstone of Asia's fourth-largest economy — led the surge, jumping 179 percent to $41 billion for a second consecutive month above that threshold, fuelled by soaring global demand for memory chips used in AI data centres and rising prices for both DRAM and NAND products. The strong result extended across nearly all major categories, with automobile exports up 7 percent, petroleum products up 34 percent, and shipments to key markets including China, the United States and Southeast Asia all posting significant gains, though officials cautioned that rising protectionism and Middle East geopolitical tensions remain headwinds for South Korean trade.