SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s exports of information-technology products surged to a record high in the six months that ended on June 30 on growing shipments of mobile communication devices and semiconductors, the government said Tuesday.

In the January-June period, the country’s IT exports reached $81.24 billion, up 10.9 percent from the same period in 2012, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The country’s trade surplus in the IT sector also surged to a record high of $42 billion as imports only gained 3.3 percent on-year to $39.24 billion.

The figure for the IT surplus compares with a surplus of $19.5 billion for the whole economy in the first half.

“The country achieved a large growth of exports despite a slowdown of the global market, partly on a rise in the prices of key IT products, such as semiconductors and displays,” the ministry said in a press release.

Shipments of mobile phones, including smartphones, jumped 31.6 percent on-year to $11.64 billion in the first half with those of semiconductors growing 8.6 percent to $26.45 billion.

The combined global market share of South Korean smartphone manufacturers reached 38 percent with global leader Samsung Electronics Co. holding the top position for the fifth consecutive quarter as of end-June, according to the ministry.

By country, exports to the United States jumped 14.2 percent on-year to $8.22 billion with shipments to China, including Hong Kong, surging 10.2 percent to $40.2 billion in the first half.

The ministry said IT exports were expected to continue growing in the second half, surpassing $160 billion for the first time in the country’s history.

“However, concerns over an economic slowdown in China, a key destination of the country’s IT products, slowing growth of the global IT market and the prolonged economic downturn in Europe are expected to have negative impacts on the country’s IT exports,” it said.