By Park Hye Ri and Lee Jihae

President Moon Jae-in on Aug. 7 emphasized that Korea must develop its own technology to stand up to Japan's recent export restrictions.

He said this during a visit to SBB Tech in the city of Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do Province, a manufacturer of decelerators that minimize minute movements within machinery and devices. This was the president's first visit to a company in an effort to strengthen the domestic sectors for material components and equipment since Japan imposed its sanctions.

SBB Tech produces bearings and decelerators that maximize a motor's energy output by reducing its energy input. The company used to import from Japan robot harmonic decelerators that reduced vibration and noise and increased rotational accuracy, becoming the first in Korea to develop such a decelerator after Japan's restrictions took effect.

The bearing, a key component of a decelerator, is categorized by Japan as a strategic material and thus Korea's access to the part was affected after the country's delisting from Japan's whitelist of preferential trading partners.

After observing the decelerator production process, President Moon held a meeting with SBB Tech executives and staff.

"Since Japan removed Korea from its whitelist, we've deeply felt the role of strong small enterprises that produce material components," he said.

"Despite being colonized by Japan and undergoing the Korean War, Korea developed its economy through technology."

Korea's removal from Japan's whitelist has led to more Korean companies seeking domestic material components, the president said.

"Companies that had heavily relied on Japan for key material components are undergoing difficulty, but we hope that the recent turn of events will provide a chance for Korea to improve its industrial ecology," he added.

President Moon said Korea's delisting is an issue that the country must raise with Japan, saying, "We hope that our people and corporations will use this turn of events as an opportunity to further invigorate our economy and industry."

He listened to the suggestions and difficulties of SBB Tech staff, then asked the relevant ministries to devise policies and set up facilities to streamline the verification process of products and technology. He also pledged more active support for research and development by small- and mid-size producers of material components and "sweeping" government support for technological development.

hrhr@korea.kr