South Korean president says Japan export curbs could be prolonged

South Korea's president said on Wednesday that Japan's export curbs on key materials used by South Korean technology firms could be prolonged and his government will help reduce their reliance on Japanese suppliers. Moon met with executives from South Korea's top 30 conglomerates at the Presidential Blue House and said the government will sharply increase spending to help Korean firms source parts, materials and equipment domestically.

Japan said last week it would tighten restrictions on exports of three materials used in smart phone displays and chips. Japan's actions have hit South Korea's chip industry, the backbone of Asia's fourth-biggest economy which accounts for 20% of total exports, and potentially threatens to disrupt global supplies of memory chips made by tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.