Trend ICT exports carry Korean growth while external uncertainty and AI reshape the sector

Summary

KISDI treats the ICT sector as one of the main supports of Korea's recent economic expansion. In recent years ICT goods, led by semiconductors, have accounted for a large portion of total exports and have pulled up the national growth rate. The external environment has meanwhile become harder to predict because of tariff measures under President Trump, a sharper US and China contest for technological leadership and wider geopolitical risk. Artificial intelligence and digital transformation are also changing the underlying paradigm of the entire ICT industry. The institute argues that under these conditions the government needs objective and comprehensive indicators of current market performance and outlooks before it can set timely ICT policy.