SEOUL, February 28 (AJP) - South Korea’s trade commission will launch an investigation into alleged dumping of hot-rolled steel products from China and Japan, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Friday.
The Korea Trade Commission is set to formally begin its probe after publishing a notice in the government gazette on March 4. The investigation will unfold in two phases: an initial inquiry lasting up to five months, with preliminary findings expected as early as June, followed by a final determination period that could take an additional three to five months.
The probe was prompted by a December 2024 complaint from Hyundai Steel, one of South Korea’s major steelmakers, which claimed that artificially low-priced imports from China and Japan were inflicting damage on the domestic steel industry.
According to data from the Korea Iron & Steel Association, China and Japan accounted for 96.2 percent of South Korea’s hot-rolled steel imports between January and November 2024.
During this period, South Korea imported 1.53 million tons from China and 1.77 million tons from Japan, out of total imports of 3.43 million tons.
Industry sources suggest that Chinese and Japanese hot-rolled steel products are being sold in South Korea at prices 10 to 20 percent lower than domestic alternatives, with discounts reaching as high as 30 percent in some cases.
This investigation comes on the heels of South Korea’s decision earlier this month to impose provisional anti-dumping duties of 27.9 to 38 percent on Chinese steel plates. That decision, announced on February 20, was based on findings that those imports had caused harm to South Korean producers.
Hot-rolled steel is a critical material used across industries, including automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction, and industrial machinery.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.