Japanese manufacturers must apply for
approval for each technology-related contract,
such as sales of fluorinated polyimides used for
displays, the ministry said.
The statement did not say what exactly was
behind the decision. But relations have soured
since South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered the
seizure of local assets of a Japanese company
after it refused to compensate forced laborers
during World War II.
South Korea’s trade ministry said it will “sternly”
deal with the Japanese move, calling it an
“unjust” action that violates rules of the World
Trade Organization. The trade minister, Sung
Yun-mo, said the government in Seoul planned
to file a WTO complaint.
South Korea “thinks this Japanese measure is
regrettable,” Park Tae-sung, a senior official at
the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, told
reporters in South Korea.
He said a thorough analysis is required to study
what impact the Japanese measure would have
on South Korean exports of semiconductors.
The change would mean the approval process
will be delayed for such products, where Japan is
a significant supplier.
South Korean technology companies including
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix say they are
assessing how the Japanese import restrictions
could possibly impact their business.
Before the latest move, the exports required only
a single encompassing approval process. Now
the ministry approval will be delayed on average
by 90 days, a ministry official said, speaking on
customary condition of anonymity.
In a landmark ruling in October, South Korea’s
top court ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo
Metal Corp. to pay 100 million won ($88,000)
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