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South Korea's exports expanded 23.5 per cent from a year earlier in the first 20 days of this month, driven by strong demand for semiconductors, data showed on Monday.

Outbound shipments reached $43.5 billion in the February 1-20 period, compared with $35.2 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service, reports Yonhap news agency.

The figure marks the highest level for the period as semiconductor exports more than doubled amid a boom fuelled by growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI).

Imports increased 11.7 percent on-year to $38.6 billion during the period, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.9 billion, the data showed.

The daily average volume of exports spiked 47.3 percent on-year as the number of working days during the period went down by 2.5 days from a year earlier to 13 days.

By item, exports of semiconductors surged 134.1 percent to $15.1 billion, the data showed.

Chip exports accounted for 34.7 percent of the country's total exports over the cited period, up 16.4 percentage points from the same period last year.

Exports of petroleum products went up 10.5 percent on-year to $2.9 billion, and shipments of vessels soared 22.7 percent to $1.3 billion.

Automobile exports, on the other hand, dipped 26.6 percent on-year to $2.6 billion.

By destination, exports to China, South Korea's top trading partner, surged 30.8 percent on-year to $8.7 billion.

Shipments to the United States jumped 21.9 percent to $8 billion despite the tariff scheme by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, said the report.

In January, exports grew 33.9 percent from a year earlier to $65.85 billion, also on strong demand for semiconductors, the data showed.