South Korea will lodge a complaint against Japan with the World Trade Organization over Tokyo's decision to impose stricter controls on exports of certain technology materials to Seoul, Bloomberg News and Reuters reported.
South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said local companies faced "serious damage" over Japan's "politically motivated" controls on exports of fluorinated polyimides, photoresists and hydrogen fluoride, according to Reuters. Japan had imposed the export controls amid a court case involving compensation for forced labor during World War II.
Japan and South Korea recently removed each other from their respective lists of preferred trading partners, in a sign of escalating tensions between the two East Asian economies.
