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| The World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. |
The South Korean government said Monday it will file a complaint to the World Trade Organization and diversify import sources as Japan moved to tighten restrictions on exports of key materials used to produce chips and displays.
"South Korea has been making efforts to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with Japan," Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said, claiming the decision apparently came in response to South Korea's Supreme Court ruling on compensation for wartime forced labor.
"The decision goes against common sense, and we express deep regret," he added.
The remark came after the Japanese government said earlier in the day that it will strengthen regulations on the export of high-tech chemicals used in semiconductors and smartphone production to South Korea starting Thursday by requiring exporters to apply for approval for each contract.
The new rules apply to three types of materials and chemicals, including fluorine polyimide used to make flexible organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as resist and etching gas, which are needed in the semiconductor fabrication process.
The Japanese government claimed that the move was not a retaliation for the court decision.
Seoul said it will continue to keep a watchful eye on the potential impact of Japan's trade regulation.
The move, meanwhile, is widely anticipated to weigh down on South Korea's outbound shipment of chips, the country's key export product.
South Korea's shipment of chips declined 25.5 percent in June from a year earlier to $8.31 billion. The decrease was attributable to the falling price of memory chips coupled with the weaker demand for smartphones around the globe, the ministry said.
The Federation of Korean Industries released a separate statement on Monday condemning the regulation, claiming the decision will have an adverse impact on economic ties between the two countries.
"The South Korean business community expresses concerns over the Japanese export regulation as it could harm the cooperative relationship between Seoul and Tokyo," the lobbying group said. (Yonhap)
