Lee Jae-myung: "Japan is Not an Insurmountable Wall... The Next Government Must Continue Semiconductor Materials, Parts, and Equipment Independence"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, marked the third year of Japan's export restrictions on semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment by stating, "The Moon Jae-in administration's bold decision significantly reduced dependence on Japan," and insisted, "The next government must continue South Korea's self-reliance in materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang)."

On the 4th, through Facebook, Governor Lee said, "Japan's export restrictions and other economic retaliation measures were suddenly implemented after the 2018 Supreme Court recognized individual claims for victims of forced labor during Japanese colonial rule," adding, "At that time, concerns about economic shocks caused by restrictions from Japan, the world's third-largest economy, were widespread. There were doubts about whether self-reliance in the SoBuJang industry, which depended heavily on Japan, was possible, and there were also strong voices calling for diplomatic resolution with Japan."

However, he noted, "President Moon Jae-in took bold measures," and evaluated, "Self-reliance in SoBuJang is an achievement made possible by the Moon administration's decision, the public who supported government policies and invested in the SoBuJang fund, large, medium, and small enterprises that achieved rapid localization through technological cooperation, and the National Assembly that promptly processed the SoBuJang budget?all working together."

He continued, "Gyeonggi Province also shared the vision of technological independence in SoBuJang," explaining, "Since Gyeonggi Province, where the semiconductor industry is concentrated, has the largest number of SoBuJang-related companies nationwide, a significant impact was expected at the time. Therefore, we promptly established emergency measures and focused on securing alternative supplies through diversification of import sources."

He added, "We also made every possible effort to promote R&D development of materials and parts, the establishment of SoBuJang clusters, and, in the long term, localization of key components including system semiconductor materials and devices," and stated, "During the 'SoBuJang self-reliance' process, we reduced Japan's dependence on hydrofluoric acid, which was close to 50%, to the 10% range, and lowered dependence on Japan for the top 100 core items to 25%."

Governor Lee further said, "Our per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has surpassed Japan for the first time, and Japan is no longer an insurmountable barrier for us," promising, "We will firmly inherit the achievements made by the Moon administration in the SoBuJang industry and open an era of a strong SoBuJang nation."