South Korea to file WTO complaint over Japan's export curbs on Wednesday

[SEOUL] South Korea will file a complaint on Wednesday with the World Trade Organization against Japan's export curbs on key materials used by its neighbor's chip and display makers, South Korea's trade minister said in a statement.

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said Japan was politically motivated in taking the export control measures July 4 after South Korea's Supreme Court ruled on compensation for former Korean war-time forced laborers, and the measure is a "discriminatory" step directly targeting South Korea.

Japan has denied the claims and said the move was based on concerns about what it saw as lax South Korean export controls for sensitive materials.

South Korea will request Japan hold bilateral meeting as part of the dispute settlement process with the WTO, Yoo said, adding the country will seek "constructive" measures to resolve the issue with Japan.

The move comes just hours after WTO ruled for a second time that South Korea's anti-dumping duties on Japanese valves violate international trade rules, according to a decision published on the WTO website.

BLOOMBERG