The 2019 Korea-Japan Trade Dispute: Three Chip Materials and the Whitelist

In July 2019, the Japanese government tightened export controls on three items to Korea: hydrogen fluoride, photoresists, and fluorine polyimide. In August, it removed Korea from its export control whitelist.

This is widely interpreted as de facto economic retaliation for the 2018 Korean Supreme Court ruling on forced labor compensation. Japan claimed security reasons, but the timing was right after the court ruling.

A boycott movement against Japanese products (NO JAPAN) arose in Korea, and the Korean government pursued localization of materials, parts, and equipment, achieving some success.