The Japanese government announced yesterday morning that it has approved individual applications by Japanese companies for exporting semiconductor raw material photoresist to South Korea. In response, the South Korean side said that South Korea will continue to promote the localization of core materials and components.
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Luo-won said at a government meeting this morning that the South Korean government will continue to promote the localization of core materials and components, reduce external dependence, and promote the establishment of a reasonable division of labor system between large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises. And yesterday afternoon, South Korean President Moon Jae-in went to a parts company in Gyeonggi to inspect. This is the first company in Korea to independently develop a reducer for a robot. Before that, Korea has imported a large number of reducers from Japan.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in: Those companies that are highly dependent on Japan's imports are currently facing difficulties.
Korean companies are also actively looking for alternative materials and components to accelerate the pace of localization. Take the photoresist approved for export by Japan as an example. Although Korean companies have produced them, they are inferior to Japanese companies in terms of technology and have not been able to mass commercialize. Recently, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are testing the products of these companies.
In addition, with the continued decline of South Korean tourists to Japan, major Korean airlines are stepping up their adjustments to the number of flights to Japan. Asiana Airlines has previously changed its operations from large aircraft to small aircraft to maintain flight operations to Japan; however, it has recently decided to suspend flights from Busan to Okinawa from this month. South Korea's largest low-cost carrier Jeju Air also said yesterday that by October 26, it would reduce 78 flights to Japan. It is predicted that the Korean airline will cut an average of more than 40,000 seats per week. South Korean government data show that from June 16 to June 30, the number of South Korean tourists to Japan decreased by 13% from the previous month.