South Korea's dependency on Japanese materials and parts fell to an all-time low this year, about two years after Tokyo imposed export controls against Seoul on key products.

According to data by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Thursday, imports of Japanese materials and parts came to nine-point-69 billion U.S. dollars in the January-April period, accounting for 15 percent of South Korea's overall imports of those goods.

The ratio represents a fall of one-point-one percentage points from a year earlier and the lowest since the nation started compiling related data in 2001.

The figure peaked at 28 percent in 2003 and dropped to 18-point-two percent in 2014, then 15-point-nine percent in 2019.

In contrast, imports from Taiwan rose to nine-point-three percent of the total from eight-point-three percent over the cited period, with those from China also rising to 30-point-one percent from 29-point-one percent.