S. Korea renews call for Japan to lift export restrictions
- 4 years ago
산업부, 일본에 "이달 말까지 수출규제 원상회복 입장 밝혀라"
It's been almost a year since Japan decided to restrict exports of key materials used in making memory chips and display panels to South Korea.
With the export controls still in place, Seoul's trade ministry today called on Tokyo to come back to the negotiating table so that they can iron things out. Japan avoided giving a direct answer to that call.
Kim Dami reports.
Seoul has once again called on Japan to lift its export curbs against South Korea, urging Tokyo to give a response by the end of this month.
"Both countries are currently facing challenging times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope that the two can solve the export issues and move forward together."
South Korea's trade ministry on Tuesday highlighted its efforts to bolster its export systems and ease Japan's distrust over Seoul's system.
In fact, South Korea revised its trade laws in March to clarify its control over conventional weapons exports on top of increasing the number of staff for export control programs.
The new laws are set to go into effect on June 19.
The almost year-long trade row dates back to last July when Japan imposed export restrictions on three key industrial materials critical for Seoul's chip and display industries.
Included were photoresist, etching gas and fluorinated polyimide.
Tokyo's move came after a South Korean Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims for wartime forced labor during Japan's colonial rule.
Japan also removed Seoul from its list of trusted partners, arguing that South Korea failed to effectively control the trade of sensitive materials that could be utilized for military use.
Since then, South Korea dropped its World Trade Organization lawsuit against Japan in November and Tokyo partially eased the photoresist export curbs in December.
The two neighboring countries did hold 16-hour long talks back in March... but saw no significant progress.
Kim Dami, Arirang News.
It's been almost a year since Japan decided to restrict exports of key materials used in making memory chips and display panels to South Korea.
With the export controls still in place, Seoul's trade ministry today called on Tokyo to come back to the negotiating table so that they can iron things out. Japan avoided giving a direct answer to that call.
Kim Dami reports.
Seoul has once again called on Japan to lift its export curbs against South Korea, urging Tokyo to give a response by the end of this month.
"Both countries are currently facing challenging times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope that the two can solve the export issues and move forward together."
South Korea's trade ministry on Tuesday highlighted its efforts to bolster its export systems and ease Japan's distrust over Seoul's system.
In fact, South Korea revised its trade laws in March to clarify its control over conventional weapons exports on top of increasing the number of staff for export control programs.
The new laws are set to go into effect on June 19.
The almost year-long trade row dates back to last July when Japan imposed export restrictions on three key industrial materials critical for Seoul's chip and display industries.
Included were photoresist, etching gas and fluorinated polyimide.
Tokyo's move came after a South Korean Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims for wartime forced labor during Japan's colonial rule.
Japan also removed Seoul from its list of trusted partners, arguing that South Korea failed to effectively control the trade of sensitive materials that could be utilized for military use.
Since then, South Korea dropped its World Trade Organization lawsuit against Japan in November and Tokyo partially eased the photoresist export curbs in December.
The two neighboring countries did hold 16-hour long talks back in March... but saw no significant progress.
Kim Dami, Arirang News.