Rising demand for semiconductors, liquid crystal display screens and personal computers, has resulted in a boom for Korean exports of these products. The strong yen, which has hampered Japanese rivals’ export efforts, has also added to record exports of electronics products worth $30.3bn in the first eight months of 1999, up 27.2% year-on-year. The increase has pushed the electronics sector to the forefront of Korean exports, accounting for 36.2% of the total compared to 29.1% in the same period last year. Semiconductor exports were up 13.7% year-on-year to $11.4bn, while exports of industrial electronics products surged 59.4% to $8.4bn. Electronics components exports rose 38.9% to $5.6bn, while exports of home appliances were up 8.7%. The most dramatic increases were in PC exports, up more than 500%, LCD exports which increased 268% and exports of mobile phones which posted a 146% increase.
