Korea's exports expanded 23.5 percent from a year earlier in the first 20 days of this month, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments reached $43.5 billion in the Feb. 1-20 period, compared with $35.2 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 11.7 percent on-year to $38.6 billion during the period, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.9 billion, the data showed. In January, exports expanded 33.9 percent from a year earlier to $65.85 billion on strong demand for semiconductors.