Korea's exports went down 2.3 percent from a year earlier in the first 10 days of January despite strong outbound shipment of semiconductors, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments reached $15.55 billion in the Jan. 1-10 period, compared with $15.92 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. In contrast, average daily exports climbed 4.7 percent on-year to $2.22 billion, according to the customs office. The number of working days during the period came to 7 days, compared with 7.5 days a year earlier. Imports decreased 4.5 percent on-year to $18.21 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.7 billion, the data showed. Strong demand for semiconductors amid an industry upcyle was offset by weaker exports of automobiles, vessels and steel products. Chip shipments spiked 45.6 percent from a year earlier to $4.64 billion. The amount accounts for 29.9 percent of the country's total exports during the 10-day period, up 9.8 percentage points from a year earlier. Automobile exports tumbled 24.7 percent on-year to $1.01 billion, while shi