On April 24, 2023, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) promulgated the amended Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items that adds controlled items with regards to Russia and Belarus, while reinstating Japan to the trade whitelist.¹ It also issued a prior announcement of the draft amendment to the Public Notice of Special Measures on Trade to Undertake Obligations for International Peace and Security Maintenance adding satellite-related items to the watch-list targeting North Korea. It is advised that companies who trade in the relevant industry or deal with items added to the controlled list to double-check if their businesses are affected by the new developments. 

Amendment to the Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items

The amended Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items (1) expands the scope of items subject to export control on Russia and Belarus and (2) reinstates Japan to South Korea's trade whitelist. 

1. 741 items are newly added to the list of non-strategic items subject to the catch-all license for export to Russia and Belarus

As pre-announced on February 24, 2023, the amended Public Notice expands the scope of items subject to export control against Russia and Belarus, effective from April 28, 2023.

The amended Public Notice adds 741 items related to industrial machines, petroleum gas refining equipment, steel and chemicals, vehicles, and quantum computers to the existing 57 items on the catch-all control list of non-strategic items subject to catch-all license for export to Russia and Belarus. Exporting to Russia or Belarus of any of the 798 items on the expanded list requires export license issued by MOTIE. MOTIE has established the principle that it will ban all exports of listed items; it will, however, grant exceptional licenses after a case-by-case review of exports under contract executed prior to April 28, 2023, or to a wholly-owned subsidiary located in Russia or Belarus (for more information on the newly added 741 items, see Appendix 2-2 Items Subject to Catch-all License). 

Companies trading in the relevant business or trading goods newly added to the list, such as vehicles worth USD 50,000 or more (including used cars), should pay special attention to the current development. 

With the amendment, South Korea now imposes a similar level of export control measures as those currently imposed by the US and the EU. However, international demand for a complete ban on export to Russia and Belarus is growing in response to the prolonged war in Ukraine. In view of this global trend, continued monitoring is recommended as the Public Notice may be further amended. 

2. Japan is reinstated to the trade whitelist

As pre-announced on March 23, 2023, Japan has been reinstated to the trade whitelist, three years and seven months after the country was removed from the list in 2019. From the effective date (April 24, 2023), licensing standards and documentation requirement imposed on strategic items exported to Japan have been relaxed. This change is expected to shorten the permit review period and reduce the number of documents to be submitted for Korean companies exporting strategic items to Japan. 

3. Other amendments to the Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items

In addition to the above, the amendment (1) allows Compliance Program partners of AA grade or higher to conduct self-assessment regarding export of technologies subject to catch-all license (amendment to Article 12(3)(i) of the Public Notice); (2) exempts foreign satellite launch contractors from the requirement to submit end user pledges (enactment of Article 19(4)); (3) extends the time period given for reimporting and discarding strategic items that were exported for inspection and testing from one year to five years, while adding requisite documents to be submitted (amendment to Article 26(1)(xv) and 26(2)); and (4) adds or removes strategic items as agreed upon under the 4th multilateral Export Control Regime in 2022 (Appendixes 2 and 3).

Pre-announcement of Draft Partial Amendment to the Public Notice of Special Measures on Trade to Undertake Obligations for International Peace and Security Maintenance 

On April 24, 2023, MOTIE pre-announced the draft amendment to the Public Notice of Special Measures on Trade to Undertake Obligations for International Peace and Security Maintenance. The Public Notice adds 77 satellite-related items to the watch list targeting North Korea, under which the items are banned for trade with North Korea.

Companies should carefully review the amendment as the Notice applies not only to direct export to North Korea but also to third parties in cases where North Korea is the final destination (Article 48 of the Public Notice). The chart below shows the current status of the watch list, including the newly added 77 satellite-related items (see Appendix 6 North Korea Watch-list for more details). 

¹   Whitelist: The list of countries classified as belonging to "Zone A" under Article 10 and Appendix 6 of the Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items.