"Moving as One"... Korea and Japan Already Function as a 'Supply Chain Community' [Korea's Great Transformation, Korea-Japan Future Cooperation]

60 Years of Korea-Japan Diplomatic Relations: Evolving Into Future Cooperation Partners
LG Display and JOLED Boost OLED Productivity
Collaboration Expands in Third Countries Like Vietnam, India, and Hungary
Building Quality Control and Delivery Systems

The 2019 export restrictions imposed by Japan on key semiconductor materials dealt a major shock to South Korea's industrial sector. As exports of three items?fluorinated polyimide, photoresist, and high-purity hydrogen fluoride?were suddenly restricted, concerns over supply disruptions spread, prompting major companies such as Samsung Electronics to take emergency measures. At the time, Lee Jae-yong, who was then Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, personally visited Japan and held a series of meetings with local materials companies. He succeeded in securing short-term supplies, thereby ensuring the stable operation of production lines. This incident, separate from political conflicts, paradoxically highlighted how closely the industrial sectors of both countries are intertwined. In the process of manufacturing a single semiconductor, production was impossible without Japanese materials, components, and equipment, while global supply could not be maintained without Korean companies. This mutual dependence had already been established.

According to the "60th Anniversary of Korea-Japan Diplomatic Normalization: Korea-Japan Corporate Cooperation Report" recently released by the Korea International Trade Association, Korea-Japan industrial cooperation is evolving beyond simple import and export to the level of a genuine supply chain community. Precise technological collaboration is taking place, particularly in advanced manufacturing sectors such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, displays, steel, energy, and electronic components. Simultaneous entry into and joint operations in third countries such as Vietnam and India are also becoming more widespread.

As a representative example, Samsung Electronics has established a real-time supply chain cooperation system with Japanese materials companies at its smartphone and home appliance production bases in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. These materials companies procure components locally and jointly manage quality control, thereby enhancing process efficiency. SK On has continued operations by signing stable supply contracts with Japanese component manufacturers at its battery plants in Komarom, Hungary, and Georgia, USA, minimizing production disruptions.

LG Display adopted Japanese company JOLED's printed OLED technology to improve the productivity of high-resolution panels, while LG Energy Solution jointly launched a patent management platform with Panasonic to strengthen technological competitiveness in next-generation batteries. SK Hynix has maintained long-term procurement contracts with Japanese semiconductor materials companies such as Shin-Etsu Chemical and Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, thereby establishing a stable production base. POSCO Group has jointly responded to demand for high-grade steel products through cooperation with Nippon Steel and JFE, among others.

Such cooperation is not limited to Korea. In Vietnam, Japanese component suppliers have clustered around Samsung Electronics' production lines, and a supply chain linkage model that combines delivery and technical support has become part of the local industrial structure. SK On is also coordinating quality control procedures with Japanese companies at its plants in Hungary and Georgia, USA, establishing a global-level response system.

This cooperation is expanding beyond simple purchasing and supply to an integrated operation model that shares technological standards and quality management systems. KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) and JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) are conducting pilot projects this year to promote joint entry of Korean and Japanese companies into Vietnam, India, and Indonesia.

Institutional improvements at the government level are also underway. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is operating a program through the Korea-Japan Industrial Technology Cooperation Foundation to connect retired Japanese technical personnel with small and medium-sized Korean companies. In addition, technology consulting and on-site matching programs in the materials, components, and equipment sectors are being expanded.

Kim Nayul, a researcher at the International Trade and Commerce Research Institute's Trend Analysis Division, said, "Korea-Japan corporate cooperation is advancing beyond simple mutual supplementation to a stage where technology standards, quality management, and production schedules are integrated. Regardless of the political and diplomatic climate, the industrial sectors of the two countries are operating as a single supply chain ecosystem."

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