Seoul: Prime Minister Han Seong-sook vowed Tuesday to focus the government's policy efforts to advance South Korea into the ranks of the world's top five exporters. Han made the pledge during a ceremony marking the 80th founding anniversary of the Korea International Trade Association as the country is posting record high export figures this year fueled by strong demand for memory chips.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the government will concentrate its policy capabilities on achieving the goal of becoming a top five global export powerhouse. Efforts will be made to diversify products and markets to enhance the sustainability of trade growth. Prime Minister Han emphasized the country's commitment to logging US$1 trillion in exports this year, aiming to strengthen partnerships with key countries to expand exports of semiconductors, cars, and ships.

South Korea's exports through June this year reached a record high, rising 48.4 percent from a year earlier to $496.7 billion. This surge is attributed to robust exports of memory chips driven by global demand for artificial intelligence servers. The country's outbound shipments in June alone surged 70.9 percent on-year to $102.25 billion.