South Korea looks to Asean for help in its ‘trade war’ with Japan

Relations between the two sides have become increasingly strained in recent months amid wartime compensation claims and ‘retaliatory’ export curbs

Could an intervention by their regional trading partners be the key to normalising ties? Seoul seems to think so

Reading Time:2 minutes

South Koreans tear a huge Japanese rising sun flag during a rally in Seoul. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 29 Jul 2019Updated: 9:09pm, 29 Jul 2019

South Korea is planning to appeal for help from its regional partners in its latest bid to convince Japan to roll back export restrictions amid an escalating trade dispute between the two countries.

At a series of ministerial gatherings among representatives of Japan, South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations set to take place in Bangkok next week, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will stress “the importance of free and fair trade”, her office told journalists on Thursday.

Japan slapped new restrictions on hi-tech exports used in South Korea’s semiconductor and electronic-display industries earlier this month, citing “inadequate management” of materials, which could be used to make weapons.

But Seoul labelled the move a “retaliation” for South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese companies to compensate victims of wartime forced labour.

“South Korea’s strategy stressing the importance of free trade in the face of Japan’s trade restrictions nicely fits in with the ‘Asean spirit’, particularly at a time when the association is emphasising the free trade principle all the more because it is suffering from the ongoing US-China trade dispute”, said Choi Yoon-jung, a research fellow in the department of diplomatic strategy studies at South Korea’s Sejong Institute.