S. Korea, Japan to hold face-to-face export meeting in Seoul next week

South Korea and Japan will hold a face-to-face meeting in Seoul next week to discuss their policy measures on exports of strategic and other items as they have vowed to put each other back on their respective list of trusted trade partners, Seoul’s industry ministry said Friday.

The 10th round of the exports management policy dialogue will be held in Seoul from April 18-20 and will be attended by director-level officials from industry ministries of the two nations, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Ahead of the planned meeting, Seoul and Tokyo held a virtual meeting on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, during which they discussed their policy management regarding exports of strategic items and the “catch-all” system, among other issues.

The catch-all scheme calls on exporters to obtain a situational permit for items believed to be put to military use, though they are not listed as strategic items.

The upcoming session comes as the two nations are working to improve their relations long marred by historic and diplomatic rows stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Last month, Japan lifted restrictions on exports to Seoul of three materials — fluoridated polyimide, photoresist and hydrogen fluoride — that are critical for the production of semiconductors and displays, which had been in place since 2019.

Seoul and Tokyo have also vowed to put each other on their respective “white list” of trusted trade partners, as Japan in 2019 removed South Korea from its list of nations for preferential trade treatment, requiring tough screening for trading “strategic items” that could potentially be diverted for military use.

South Korea then took the same step against Japan.

But the Seoul government began domestic procedures to reinstate Japan to its white list, and it is expected to wrap up the process by the end of this month, according to ministry officials.

Japan is expected to present a time frame for its reinstatement during next week’s meeting, they added.

Japan’s export curbs, which had been in place since 2019, were seen as Japan’s apparent retaliation against the South Korean Supreme Court rulings in 2018 that ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to victims of Japan’s forced labor during its 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.

The Yoon Suk Yeol government, however, announced plans last month to compensate the forced labor victims without asking Japan for contributions despite strong opposition by the opposition party and victims.