South Korean exports likely rose for a 12th straight month in May, as a global boom in AI investment drove a surge in chip sales, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy, a bellwether for global trade, were projected to have risen 48.4% from a year earlier, according to a median forecast of nine economists. That would be slightly faster than the 48.0% rise in April but weaker than the 50.2% jump in March, which was the strongest since August 1988. Exports have been rising since June 2025 and posting double-digit growth since December.