Japanese media reports that Tokyo will impose economic sanctions on South Korea this month,... amid a legal dispute concerning cases of forced wartime labor.
The report says the Japanese government plans to restrict exports of three products from this week.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
While the U.S. and China agreed to a temporary trade war truce on the sidelines of last weekend's G20 Summit,... another trade spat might be about to erupt.
This time, between South Korea and Japan.
According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun on Sunday,... Tokyo plans to impose economic sanctions on South Korea's semiconductor and IT sectors.
According to the report,... from Thursday,... the Japanese government will restrict exports of three key items,... including fluorine-containing polyimide, resists and etching gas to South Korea.
The products are materials used in the semiconductor production process,... as fluorine-containing polyimide is used to make smartphones and TVs.
Japan accounts for about 90-percent of the global supply of the fluorine-containing polyimide and resists markets, and 70-percent of the etching gas market.
Watchers say LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics,... two of South Korea's biggest tech giants,... will be impacted by the sanctions.
Not only will they slow the production of smartphones and TVs from the two companies,...the measures, if implemented, are likely to negatively impact the South Korean economy.
The sanctions come amid a major economic backlash against Seoul's Supreme Court's decision last year,... that major Japanese companies must pay compensation to Korean victims of wartime forced labor.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
