The Republic of Korea (RoK)'s exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries are on the rise, helping offset recent drops in shipments to the US and China amid a global trade war sparked partly by the US' new tariff policies, the RoK's media reported.

Outbound shipments to the ASEAN region came to 47.88 billion USD in the January-May period, up 4.3% from the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

Over the same period, RoK's exports to the US went down 4.3% as effects of the Donald Trump administration's tariff policies began to materialise, while shipments to China dropped 5%.

In February, exports to ASEAN economies recorded 9.56 billion USD, surpassing monthly shipments to China, which stood at 9.5 billion USD, for the first time in 23 years.

Shipments to ASEAN exceeded those to China again in March, at 10.26 billion USD to 10.06 billion USD.

In May, ASEAN imported 10 billion USD worth of RoK's goods, a slight 1.3% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Previously, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) identified ASEAN as a key growth market for South Korean exports in the context of the country’s strategic shift to reduce dependence on the Chinese market. Promising export sectors include semiconductors, electronics, home appliances, robotics, components for electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy equipment, and other industrial goods./.