South Korea will seek to invest 1 trillion won (¥91.8 billion) annually in developing homegrown materials and equipment used to produce microchips, a senior ruling party lawmaker said Wednesday, after Japan tightened curbs on exports of some high-tech materials to the country.
Japan said Monday it would tighten regulations on exports of materials used in smartphone displays and chips to South Korea amid a widening dispute over compensation for South Koreans who were forced to work for Japanese firms during World War II.
"We are doing a preliminary feasibility analysis (on the investment)," Cho Jeong-sik from the Democratic Party told reporters after meeting with officials from the presidential office and government ministries to discuss a response to Japan's decision.