Korea seeks truce in trade war with Japan by halting WTO dispute process

• Published date: 06 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Korea will seek a rapid restoration of frayed bilateral relations with Japan by deciding to temporarily halt an ongoing dispute settlement process with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the industry ministry said Monday.

Ties between the two countries have deteriorated after years of intensified conflict over Japan's export curbs on key materials needed to manufacture computer chips ? Korea's growth driver industry accounting for about a fifth of its total exports.

Accelerating the move to end four years of bilateral feuding is a recent breakthrough in long-stalled talks over compensating Koreans who were forced to labor at Japanese factories during World War II. The dispute was triggered by Korea's 2018 Supreme Court ruling that ordered Japanese firms to pay Korean forced labor victims.

Late Sunday, Korea and Japan agreed to establish a fund for the education and cultural exchanges of young people in both countries, including scholarships. The fund, operated by the two countries' business lobbies, essentially will replace compensation responsibilities as outlined by the 2018 court ruling.

"Korea-Japan could hold bilateral talks to resolve the export curb feud as early as this month," an industry ministry official told reporters at the Sejong Government Complex, Monday.

The talks will, the official said, seek to turn...