General

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, South Korea's Minister of Industry, Trade, and Resources, Lee Changyang, said on the 22nd that South Korea and Japan are expected to complete the procedures required to end the trade dispute between the two countries within this week: Japan will lift export restrictions on key industrial raw materials from South Korea, and the South Korea will withdraw relevant complaints to the World Trade Organization.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, Japan said last week that it was ready to lift export controls on semiconductor raw materials to South Korea. In response, the South Korean side also disclosed its intention to "withdraw the lawsuit" from the WTO.

Li Changyang told reporters on the 22nd that the "necessary procedures" to resolve the above issues will be completed within this week. "We will also proceed to revise the rules in order to quickly re list Japan on our trade 'white list' and negotiate with Japan on this matter."

South Korean President Yoon Hyuk visited Tokyo last week. After meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Mansuo Shoda, he agreed to repair the damaged bilateral relations in recent years.

Prior to his visit to Japan, the government of Yin Xiyue took some measures to show goodwill to the Japanese side, including making significant concessions on the issue of compensation for the forced recruitment of South Korean workers during the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula, and issuing the so-called "third-party compensation" scheme, in which South Korean enterprises contribute to pay compensation for the victims of the forced recruitment of South Korean workers by Japan. This decision violates the ruling of the Korean Supreme Court in 2018 that two Japanese companies should compensate for the injured workers in South Korea. It has been strongly criticized by the victims of forced labor recruitment in South Korea, their support groups, and opposition parties. Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch reported.

The Japanese enterprise involved in the case has never implemented the ruling of the Korean court. The Japanese government has supported it by emphasizing that the forced labor dispute has been resolved by the relevant agreement signed when Japan and South Korea normalized their relations in 1965. It has also taken retaliatory measures against South Korea in the economic and trade field. Since July 2019, it has implemented export control measures on key semiconductor raw materials in South Korea, affecting important industries such as smart phone display screens and chip manufacturing in South Korea, and has also canceled the export approval facilitation treatment for South Korea. South Korea has also removed Japan from the "white list" of countries that have obtained trade facilitation, and in 2020 filed a complaint with the WTO regarding Japan's export controls, alleging that Japan violated international trade rules. Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch reported.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, Yin Xiyue said at the cabinet meeting on the 21st that the South Korean side will take the lead in taking measures to remove obstacles to the development of South Korea Japan relations. He will instruct the director of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Resources to initiate legal proceedings to restore Japan to the "white list" of trade. "I am sure that if the South Korean side takes the lead in removing obstacles, the Japanese side will respond."