Korea's exports of information communication technology (ICT) goods dropped almost 10 percent last month, led by a continued slump in sales of semiconductors and displays, government data showed Thursday.

But the pace of decline slowed last month on the back of an increase in outbound shipments of mobile devices, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.


The ICT exports of Asia's fourth-largest economy dropped 9.8 percent to $11.4 billion last month, while imports posted a 1.5 percent increase to $6.8 billion.

In January, outbound shipments of ICT products hit a three-year low of $11.86 billion, plunging 17.8 percent from a year earlier.

By item, the exports of semiconductors and displays decreased 12.8 percent and 23.4 percent, respectively, in February compared with the same month in 2015.

But the exports of mobile phones grew 2.8 percent despite a fierce competition with foreign manufacturers like Apple and Huawei.

It marked the first hike in Korea's exports of mobile phones in four months.

It was attributed to the preliminary sales of Samsung's new Galaxy S7 and the exports of more budget phones to the United States. (Yonhap)