South Korea’s dependence on Japan for some key materials for the semiconductor and display industries has dropped sharply since Japan abruptly imposed export restrictions two years ago. 

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy made the assessment in a report issued on Thursday. 

It found that South Korea saw dependence fall sharply on Japanese fluorinated polyimide, photoresist and hydrogen fluoride, which are critical for semiconductor and display production. 

Between January and May, South Korea imported four-point-six million dollars of hydrogen fluoride, which is down more than 83 percent compared to the same period in 2019. 

Imports of fluorinated polyimide virtually came to zero after the country opted to use ultra thin glass instead. As for photoresist, South Korea began importing the material from Belgium.

South Korea's imports of 100 key items from Japan also slipped from 31-point-four percent to 24-point-nine percent in the past two years.