It was reported by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 21st that a Belarusian military corporation, which is under Western sanctions for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has procured semiconductor parts from South Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States through Chinese corporations.
According to Nihon Keizai, it was mentioned that the materials secured by the Belarusian opposition group BelPol contain records of contracts and transaction records among corporations in Russia, Belarus, China, and South Korea, as well as financial institution payment records.
The report said that Planar JSC, a Belarusian semiconductor equipment manufacturer that is part of the Russian military-industrial complex, has continued to procure parts from Western suppliers even after being designated as a blacklist (sanction target) by the U.S. government in December 2023. Semiconductors are key components used in weapons such as drones and cruise missiles.
Planar has utilized several Chinese corporations as intermediaries to procure various parts from third countries. The materials included that a company called Excell Photoelectric in China sent export documents concerning laser-related products worth 28,100 euros (about 42.3 million won) to Planar on September 20 of last year, specifying that 'Excell Photoelectric acts on behalf of Microimage in South Korea.' Microimage is a company that produces photomasks, a raw material essential for semiconductor manufacturing, and is headquartered in Sejong City.
A Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official stated, 'We cannot confirm issues related to individual corporations, and South Korea strictly enforces export controls against Russia,' as reported by Nihon Keizai.
The materials also contained information that Shenzhen Yuxing Machinery Equipment in China had signed a contract to export 175 glass products to Planar in June of last year, and that the products were produced by Corning in the U.S. It was also mentioned that Planar procured components produced by Nikon in Japan and Piezomechanik in Germany through Chinese firms.