The trade relationship between South Korea and Japan, which had been strained since the Japanese government imposed export restrictions on key semiconductor materials to Korea five years ago, has seen a significant revival after the two nations resolved many of their economic disputes last year. In April, Korea and Japan put each other back on their “white list” of preferential trading partners. By December, the finance ministers of both countries signed a $10 billion currency swap agreement, signaling a full-scale return to economic cooperation.
This has led to Korean startups expanding into Japan, and Japanese high-tech companies establishing research and development (R&D) centers and factories in Korea. The recent launch of a cross-border second-hand goods trading platform indicates that trade barriers between the two countries could soon disappear.
In June, Korean second-hand marketplace Bunjang partnered with Japan’s largest online second-hand trading platform, Mercari, which boasts 22 million monthly active users, to introduce a service that allows users from both countries to trade second-hand goods. Users can now purchase Japanese second-hand goods through the Bunjang app and Korean second-hand goods via the Mercari app, with delivery options.
“The cooperation between the companies significantly reduced the time and cost associated with localizing the service,” a Bunjang spokesperson said. “We have expanded offerings from fashion to hobby items after receiving positive responses from consumers in both countries.”
Wanted Lab, a Korean job listing and human resources management tech platform, signed an agreement with Japanese career matching platform Lapras and resume-writing service Yagish to transfer its AI-based job matching technology and expertise. The company has entered the Japanese market and will share revenue with these partners. “In just six months, our collaboration with Lapras has brought in over 200 new clients,” said a Wanted Lab representative, adding that the company decided last week to make an additional investment in Lapras due to the success of their partnership.
Korean hospitality management startup H2O Hospitality manages accommodation facilities across Japan owned by Rakuten LIFULL STAY, a Japanese vacation rental service company. Allganize, a Korean-Japanese AI startup, operates its development headquarters in Korea and its main headquarters in Japan. The company, which serves over 300 companies in Korea, the United States, and Japan, is preparing for an initial public offering on the Japanese stock market in the second half of next year.
Japanese tech giants are also ramping up investment in Korea. Japan’s leading OLED (organic light-emitting diode) materials company, Idemitsu Kosan, opened its first R&D center in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, last month. The center aims to expand its research and development efforts from OLED materials to include batteries and semiconductor materials.
Tokyo Electron, one of the world’s top three semiconductor equipment companies, invested 200 billion won last year to expand its R&D center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. In April this year, the company announced plans to build a semiconductor production and research facility in Yongin.
Toray Group, the world’s leading carbon fiber producer, said in May that it will invest 500 billion won by 2025 to expand its production facilities in the Gumi National Industrial Complex in North Gyeongsang Province. “We see Korea as a key global sales and export hub,” the company said.