Korean Chip Slump Shows Trade Soft Patch Deepening: Supply Lines

If you thought it was about time global semiconductor demand bottomed out, you may want to think again by looking at South Korea’s latest chip exports.

Korea’s shipments abroad of semiconductors that go into everything from computers to smartphones plunged 43.9% in the first 20 days of this month compared with a year earlier, according to the national customs office. That’s similar to the 44.5% drop for the full month of January.

Considering semiconductor exports fell between 17% and 29% in the last three months of last year — when Korea’s gross domestic product contracted and Samsung Electronic reported a ...