Citrini analyst Jukan stated that South Korea's storage semiconductor exports and unit prices rose synchronously in June, driven by AI demand and supply shortages. According to trade statistics from the South Korean Customs Department, as of June 20, 2026, the total export value of major storage products exceeded 23 billion US dollars, accounting for over 60% of the total monthly export value of 37.16 billion US dollars in May. Based on the recent monthly growth of HBM, NAND, and SSD, the total export value of storage semiconductors in June is expected to reach $38 billion to $42 billion, surpassing last month's record and setting a new historical high. In June, the export value and unit price of various storage semiconductors increased synchronously, among which the export value of MCP or HBM increased by 51% month on month. Affected by the continuous investment in AI data centers by global technology companies such as NVIDIA, the supply shortage of HBM3E and HBM4 centered around SK Hynix continues. Due to the concentration of wafers for HBM production, the supply of general DRAM has relatively decreased, and the unit price of general DRAM has risen to about 2 to 3 times that of the same period last year. The demand for NAND flash memory and SSD has increased by 25% to 28% month on month with the construction of AI inference servers. The proportion of storage products in the total export value of semiconductors has risen to 90%. The total export value of storage and system semiconductors reached 25.5 billion US dollars, and the total export value of semiconductors in June is expected to be between 42 billion and 46 billion US dollars. Park Junyoung stated that the South Korean storage industry is relying on long-term supply agreements and HBM tools to overcome weaknesses, and even if the storage industry's profits decline in the future, the decline in operating profits will not be as severe as in the past.
