홍남기 "우리도 日 백색국가 제외…내주 종합계획 발표"
The nation's finance chief called Japan's decision an unfair economic retaliation that destroys bilateral trust.
Hong Nam-ki announced detailed plans on how Seoul will deal with Tokyo's additional export restrictions.
Kim Da-mi tells us more.
South Korea's finance minister Hong Nam-ki said that South Korea will thoroughly and strongly cope with Japan's latest decision,... as it has prepared countermeasures for all possible scenarios.
That includes removing Japan from its whitelist of 29 trusted trading partners.
"While continuing to solve diplomatic relations, we will strengthen our exports process by removing Japan off our whitelist."
Noting that such a tit-for-tat decision was inevitable, the minister promised to provide details on what materials would be affected and what impact that would have on Japan next week.
The briefing on Friday afternoon further included detailed plans to support the local companies that will suffer the most right away.
He noted that 159 parts and materials will have a direct effect on companies.
"We will closely monitor the 159 materials by breaking them down into sections based on reliance on Japan, negative impact and replaceability. We will extend the storage period and provide tax incentives for searching for alternatives overseas."
Additional financial support includes tax incentives and providing up to 5 billion U.S. dollars of working capital.
Highlighting the importance of localization, the minister proposed pouring over one billion dollars into R&D, especially on items crucial for the supply chain.
"As well as creating extra funds to secure key materials from overseas and through mergers and acquisitions,… the government will provide detailed plans next week for increasing the competitiveness of parts and materials.
South Korea will also speed up the process of taking Japan's unfair decision to the WTO."
KIM Da-mi, Arirang News.
