South Korea's exports have jumped 25% so far this year thanks to strong overseas demand for oil-related products and semiconductors, customs data showed Saturday. 
South Korea shipped US$27.6 billion worth of products from January 1-20, up from $22.1 billion registered in the same period of last year, according to the data provided by the Korea Customs Service. 
The spike followed 2.5% and 6.4% on-year export increases in November and December last year, state news agency (Yonhap) reported. 
Oil products led the increase with their exports jumping 86% from a year earlier. Exports of semiconductors also hiked 52.5%, with outbound shipment of steel products going up 19.9% over the cited period. 
Exports of ships and wireless communication devices, however, shrank 26.7% and 8.5%, respectively, the data showed. 
By region, exports bound for Vietnam surged 62.7%, while those shipped to the European Union, Japan and China expanded 40.3%, 34.7% and 25.6%. Exports bound for the United States also grew 14.9%, according to the data.