As the U.S.-China summit nears, China has reintroduced rare earth export restrictions. This time targeting not just materials but also technologies and equipment containing even trace amounts of rare earth elements. While largely viewed as a strategic move in trade negotiations with Washington, the decision has alarmed South Korea. Korea´s key industries,semiconductors, smartphones, and defense, heavily rely on these critical resources.
The situation echoes Japan’s experience fifteen years ago, when China halted rare earth exports during a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands. Japan responded with a long-term, government-led effort to diversify supply chains. It invested in Australian mining firms, reduced its dependency on Chinese rare earths from over 90% to around 50%. Along with developing technologies to cut rare earth use in hybrid motors by half. These consistent policies created a stable and resilient supply system.
South Korea Strategy
South Korea, however, has failed to take similar steps. Resource development projects launched under former President Lee Myung-bak were later abandoned or criticized by succeeding administrations as corrupt or unprofitable. The cancellation of Bolivia’s lithium project and the low-price sale of a Texas shale gas field exemplify these missteps. Only the Ambatovy nickel mine in Madagascar survived political pressure. Eventually becoming highly profitable due to the electric vehicle boom.
This pattern of reversing national strategies every five years has eroded South Korea’s “resource security.” Dependence on Chinese neodymium, vital for electric vehicles and smartphones, still stands at about 88%. Besides, its reliance on dysprosium oxide remains complete at 100%. These figures underscore years of political inconsistency and short-term thinking.
The commentary argues that South Korea must end the cycle of partisan blame and make resource security a politically neutral issue. Establishing an independent control body to manage long-term resource policy, guided by scientific data rather than politics, is deemed essential. True progress, it concludes, will require reviving overseas resource development with a 10-to-20-year vision—prioritizing national stability over political advantage.
Reference
The Chosunilbo (2025, October 11).Editorial: Japan’s Rare Earth Independence vs. South Korea’s “Resource Self-Harm.” The Chosun Daily. https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2025/10/11/3IKYO7Q4XNHKHB3O2F37AWGW4M/