Trade Minister Moon Sung-wook assured that the U.S. move to request supply chain data from major chipmakers was a one-time measure inevitably taken amid an unprecedented situation.

Moon made the remark to reporters on Tuesday in Washington after meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, saying he had received confirmation of such from the U.S. 

Moon said Raimondo expressed gratitude to South Korean semiconductor companies for providing the requested information while vowing to maintain absolute security of the data. 

In a bid to address the global chip shortage, the U.S. Commerce Department asked semiconductor manufacturers in late September to submit supply chain information, including inventory data and clients, by this Monday. This triggered concern that trade secrets could be leaked. 

Major chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix submitted the data, but excluded sensitive information.