South Korea's exports of information communication technology (ICT) products dropped slightly from a year earlier last month from a cut in the number of working days, the government said Tuesday.

Outbound shipments of ICT products slipped 3.1 percent on-year to US$12.46 billion in February, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The three-day Lunar New Year holiday fell in February this year, instead of in January as in 2014.

The ministry earlier said the country's overall exports dropped 3.4 percent on-year due to the same reason.

The daily average ICT exports jumped 9.6 percent on-year to $660 million.

By country, shipments to China, the world's single largest importer of South Korea's ICT products, gained 0.6 percent on-year to $6.33 billion. Exports to the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations surged 9.9 percent to $1.82 billion, the ministry said in a press release.

Exports to the United States slipped 2.5 percent to $1.1 billion, while shipments to European Union countries plunged 35.2 percent to $750 million.

By product, shipments of semiconductors, the country's largest export item, rose 6.4 percent on-year to $4.76 billion while shipments of mobile phones, including smartphones, dropped 8.2 percent to $1.88 billion.

The country continued to post a large trade surplus in the ICT sector, amounting to $5.74 billion. South Korea recorded a $7.66 billion surplus in February.

The surplus in the ICT segment, however, was a 12.5 percent on-year plunge as imports grew 6.5 percent to $6.72 billion in February. (Yonhap)