Korea's exports expanded 23.5 percent from a year earlier in the first 20 days of this month, driven by strong demand for semiconductors, 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. The figure marks the highest level for the period as semiconductor exports more than doubled amid a boom fueled by growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI). 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. The daily average volume of exports spiked 47.3 percent on-year as the number of working days during the period went down by 2.5 days from a year earlier to 13 days. By item, exports of semiconductors surged 134.1 percent to $15.1 billion, the data showed. Chip exports accounted for 34.7 percent of the country's total exports over the cited period, up 16.4 percentage points from the same period last year. Exports of petroleum products went up 10.5 percent