OECD warns of rising shock exposure from Korea's dependence on chip exports

Korea's growing dependence on semiconductor exports may make the country more vulnerable to external shocks and cyclical volatility, despite serving as a major "growth driver," the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Thursday. The Paris-based organization made the assessment in a report titled "OECD Economic Surveys: Korea 2026," which came around a month after it raised Korea's economic growth outlook for this year to 2.6 percent from 1.7 percent three months earlier, citing the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. "Semiconductor exports have been an important growth driver, with the growth contribution of exports and investments accelerating in early 2026," the report said. Government data released the previous day showed Korea's monthly exports hit a fresh high by surpassing the $100 billion mark for the first time in June, amid a record-breaking chip performance. Exports of semiconductors nearly tripled to reach $44.82 billion, with monthly exports surpassing $40 billion for the first time on the back of surging demand for memory chips. The OECD, however, s