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Seats reserved for the delegations of South Korea and Japan at the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. (Yonhap News)
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Discussions on Japan’s export controls pushed back a day
As South Korea and Japan wage an international public relations war over Japan’s export controls on South Korea, the two countries faced off at the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the afternoon of July 24. While the two countries’ showdown at the council had originally been scheduled for July 23, protracted discussion of preceding motions caused a delay. Held in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 23, the WTO General Council was attended by representatives from the WTO’s 164 member countries. Members of the delegations from South Korea and Japan entered the conference hall with tension evident on their faces. Kim Seung-ho, deputy minister of the office of international trade and legal affairs at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, arrived at the meeting five minutes before it was set to begin. Kim was accompanied by Baek Ji-a, South Korean ambassador to Geneva, and Lee Mi-yeon, deputy ambassador. Japan was represented by Junichi Ihara, Japanese ambassador to Geneva, who showed up at the conference hall area about 10 minutes after the scheduled start time of 10 am. Ihara headed straight into the hall without offering any response to reporters’ questions. Shingo Yamagami, director-general of the Economic Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the person that the Japanese government had originally identified as its chief delegate, showed up at the conference hall at 5 pm. “I don’t think that Japan has taken any measures that present a problem in respect to WTO norms or relationships,” Yamagami told reporters. The meeting was closely followed by the press, with nearly a hundred reporters from South Korean and Japanese media and leading outlets from the foreign press posted around the conference hall. A motion to discuss Japan’s tightening of export controls, which was tabled at the request of the South Korean government, was the 11th of 14th motions. A prolonged debate of the preceding items caused this motion to be delayed until the meeting on July 24. After arriving in Geneva on Monday evening, the day before the council was to begin, Kim Seung-ho spoke with reporters at the airport. “We will rebuke Japan’s arguments in a manner that is both stern and dignified,” Kim said. Considering that Japan has already tightened controls on exports of three materials that South Korean companies need to manufacture semiconductors and displays, Kim said, “Japan going ahead with the white list issue, too, would further expand the scope of its violation [of the WTO agreement].” By Choi Ha-yan, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
