Korea-Japan Conflict Written by 20121 Kyumin Jung, 10128 Hwang Ui Kyu, 10407 Bang Chaeyoung

Korea-Japan Conflict

Written by 20121 Kyumin Jung, 10128 Hwang Ui Kyu, 10407 Bang Chaeyoung

How did the conflict start?

On July 1st, 2019, Japan restricted the export of three major chemicals in semiconductors, saying it is complying with the World Trade Organization to export these materials.

It is widely believed in South Korea that Japan banned these major components as a result of an October 2018 Korean Supreme Court ruling about a case on compensation for victims who were forced laborers during Japanese Colonization periods.


As a result of these beliefs, Koreans, who are angry with Japan's decision, are boycotting goods from Japan.

Samsung which is one of the biggest digital company in the world also started boycotting Japanese materials as well.

SAMSUNG-Japanese Boycott (NO JAPAN)

Since the export restriction from Japan, Samsung has suffered.

In the past, Samsung always selected Japanese material as parts for the semiconductors.

However, due to the many, long procedures needed, Samsung decided to change its source for these components to other countries such as Belgium. When Samsung said it would change parts to those of other countries, the Japanese government granted partial export permits on semiconductor parts.

Korean netizens are stating their support for Samsung's choice. "As Samsung tries to regulate its products in Japan, the regulations will be lifted immediately", "Samsung Lee Jae-Yong has put out the urgent fire," and "Japan will do that and expand its regulations further."

                                 
They continue to respond with comments such as, "Let's take this opportunity to stand on our own feet."

On the other hand, Japanese netizens responded with, “Don't you say you won't buy Japanese products? Isn't it a contradiction that you want ours?”, “Exhibit exports too fast.” or “Go to Korea strictly.”

The Whitelist 

The Japanese government held a cabinet meeting on August 2nd to approve the revised Export Trade Management Ordinance, which excluded Korea from the white list, and the revision was announced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on August 7th. The revision went into effect on August 28th, and it will take effect 21 days after the date of publication.

The white list is a list of countries that receive benefits from simplified procedures when exporting strategic materials. Japan has designated 27 countries, like the United States and Germany, as whitelist countries and favors them in the export process.

South Korea was the only Asian country to be named in the whitelist since 2004. When the new revision was announced, Korea was not included anymore.

Being excluded from the white list does not mean a ban on exports but it becomes a tricky import process. In other words, the benefits of the three-year exemption after the country's comprehensive approval will take up to 90 days for the new approval and review, and the export validity period will be changed to three months as a result of there being more documentation and security.

Since Korea has been excluded from the white list the number of items that will be converted from comprehensive permits to individual permits will be increased to 857 including three items needed for semiconductor and display materials that are included in the regulation starting on the 4th.

In response to Japan's suspected economic retaliation, the Korean government said on August 24th that the exclusion of Korea from the white list of countries has caused a significant change in the security cooperation environment since it wasn’t provided clear grounds for the Japanese government's August 2nd decision.

The Korean government announced that the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was officially destroyed. GSOMIA had involved Japan, the United States, and South Korea sharing military secrets that classified, second degree or lower. 

The official response from the Korean government, “The Korean government judged that it is not in our national interest to continue the security-sensitive military intelligence exchange with Japan.”

Therefore, the conflict between South Korea and Japan is expected to deepen.

Both Japan and Korea are losing money. Both countries should acknowledge each other's wrongdoings as soon as possible and offer sincere apologies to take measures and improve their broken relationship. Only then will innocent citizens like Koreans who are sushi chefs or small business owners be spared.