Removed from White List: South Korea makes tough statement against Japan

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on August 3 criticized Japan's decision to remove South Korea from its "White List" - a list of trusted trade partners. According to Lee Nak-yon, Japan's move has "crossed the line".

Mr. Lee Nak-yon affirmed that South Korea has no choice but to deal firmly with this issue: “Japan has crossed the line. We have no choice but to respond firmly. Japan's continuous actions have threatened free trade and economic cooperation not only between Japan and South Korea but also with the world. Their actions have disrupted the security cooperation system among the United States, Japan and South Korea.”

Previously, on August 2, the South Korean National Assembly also passed a supplementary budget bill worth 5.83 trillion won, equivalent to about 4.9 billion USD, to support the government's economic stimulus efforts, of which more than 273 billion won was reserved for implementing measures to respond to Japan's decision to restrict exports to South Korea.

Japan's White List includes 27 countries, including the US, UK, France, etc. According to this list, Japan allows businesses exporting goods outside the regulated list without having to check and grant separate licenses for each contract, but only need a general license. Japan has included Korea in the White List since 2004 and Korea is the first partner to be removed from this list by Japan./.