South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol (#尹锡悦/#윤석열/#尹錫悦) said Japan was a partner nation that shares universal values, indicating that Seoul seeks to mend the fractious ties with its former occupier.
Japan's immediate response to Yoon's speech was guarded. #일본
Japan's immediate response to Yoon's speech was guarded. #일본
Yoon's comments come after South Korea's presidential office said officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan have held their first trilateral economic security dialogue, amid efforts to strengthen supply chain resilience and develop technology.
Yoon did not mention the dispute over Japan's use of forced labor during wartime, the biggest pending issue between the Seoul and Tokyo.
Japan has repeatedly made its stance clear: All issues related to its colonial rule of the peninsula, including the issue of compensation for requisitioned Korean workers, were settled “completely and finally” under a 1965 bilateral agreement.
South Korea’s semiconductor inventory rose at the fastest pace in almost 27 years in January, underscoring a prolonged tech slump that’s dragging on the country’s economic growth.
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
As the Biden administration aims to choke Beijing's semiconductor ambitions, there are hurdles to overcome, including whether Seoul will be willing to join its ban on exports of advanced chip-making equipment to China that Japan and the Netherlands have recently agreed to join.
There is also concern that Washington's moves to reshape the global semiconductor ecosystem might weaken Taiwan's semiconductor industry, which Taipei believes to be one of its strongest security guarantees to deter an invasion by Beijing.
Last week, senior officials from the U.S., South Korea, Japan and Taiwan held a virtual preliminary meeting for the Biden administration's proposed Chip 4 initiative.
Chipmakers are a key driver of South Korea’s trade-reliant economy, accounting for about 12% of total exports last month.
With global demand in a slump, the economy contracted in the final quarter of 2022, and the current one also looks challenging as exports fall further.
With global demand in a slump, the economy contracted in the final quarter of 2022, and the current one also looks challenging as exports fall further.
South Korea's opposition does not like Yoon's message.
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