Japan Grants Additional Permission for Hydrogen Fluoride Exports... What's Behind It?

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[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Japanese government has additionally approved the export of high-purity liquid hydrogen fluoride for semiconductors to Korea. This is the second time since the export regulation measures in July last year.

On the 9th, Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Japanese chemical company Morita Chemical exported high-purity hydrogen fluoride on the 8th. This came two weeks after receiving approval from the Japanese government on the 24th of last month, and six months after the Japanese government removed Korea from the whitelist in July last year.

The Japanese government's approval of Morita Chemical's export of high-purity hydrogen fluoride is significant in terms of normalizing the supply of hydrogen fluoride. Morita Chemical, along with Stella Chemifa, divides the global high-purity hydrogen fluoride market, with Korea holding one-third of the market share.

Since last year's export regulation measures, the Japanese government has approved exports of photoresist and fluorine polyimide among the three regulated items. However, for liquid hydrogen fluoride, it delayed export approval by requiring various documents applied to UN weapons embargo countries. In November of the same year, Japan first allowed Stella Chemifa to export liquid hydrogen fluoride to Korea.

Analysis suggests that the Japanese government's approval of liquid hydrogen fluoride exports was influenced by the impact on domestic companies' performance. Stella Chemifa's sales and operating profit in the third quarter of last year sharply declined by 21% and 88%, respectively, compared to the same period the previous year.

The fact that Korean companies are promoting domestic production of materials to reduce dependence on Japan also appears to have influenced the Japanese government's decision. Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported DuPont's announcement the day before to establish photoresist production facilities in Korea, observing that "if movements like DuPont's increase, it could affect the competitiveness of Japanese companies." Additionally, recently, Korean chemical material company Solbrein succeeded in domestic production of liquid hydrogen fluoride, resolving procurement difficulties for Korean semiconductor companies. Because of this, Japanese companies are increasingly concerned whether they can recover their existing market share despite the reopening of export routes. A Morita Chemical official said, "We cannot guarantee whether shipment volumes can recover to pre-export regulation levels."

High-purity liquid hydrogen fluoride is used for cleaning semiconductor wafers. High-purity hydrogen fluoride without impurities requires advanced technology, and Japanese companies including Morita Chemical hold 80-90% of the global market share.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.