[Future Sought in Urban Mining]②"China's Export Controls Pose Security Threat... Korea Offers Alternative Critical Mineral Supply Chain"

Interview with Jung-hoon Lee, Head of KOTRA Chicago Trade Center

Reducing Reliance on China and Securing Raw Materials
Establishing a Meaningful Foothold in Recycling
Effective Response to EU Carbon Regulation

"China dominates the global market for critical minerals and key components, and is leveraging this control as an export restriction card according to its national interests. In terms of technological security and supply chain diversification, Korea is one of the few partner countries that can provide the United States with an alternative supply chain."

Jung-hoon Lee, Head of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) Chicago Trade Center, said this during an interview with The Asia Business Daily on the 14th (local time) in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Jung Hoon Lee, KOTRA Chicago Trade Center Director. KOTRA Chicago

As the conflict between the United States and China expands into manufacturing supply chain issues, critical minerals are now recognized as strategic assets not only as simple raw materials but also in terms of economic and national security value. The U.S. government is also designating and managing a list of critical minerals, and is actively promoting increased investment in domestic mining, refining, and processing. These moves are aimed at reducing dependence on China and enhancing the independence of its own supply chains.

Director Lee stated, "Given Korea's high dependence on foreign sources for critical metals, it is important to establish a meaningful foothold in the recycling market known as 'urban mining.' By reducing reliance on minerals concentrated in a specific country and securing raw materials directly within the North American market, we can diversify supply chains."

The recent acquisition of a recycling company in the Chicago area by Korea Zinc is cited as one example of this trend. Director Lee explained, "Chicago is a major logistics and transportation hub, and a large volume of electronic waste is generated in the Midwest region of the United States. The process of extracting copper, gold, silver, and rare earth elements from discarded electronics is already operational within the region."

Lee Junghoon, the head of KOTRA Chicago Trade Center, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily on the 14th (local time) in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA. KOTRA Chicago

Illinois, where Chicago is located, is also known for its strong eco-friendly policies within the United States. Director Lee said, "Although Chicago has the largest number of nuclear power plants in the nation, the establishment of new nuclear power plants has been banned over the past 40 years. This kind of recycling business aligns with Illinois's initiative to build an 'advanced resource regeneration technology city.'"

There are also views that investments like this deserve attention in the context of the European Union (EU)'s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). CBAM is a system that imposes additional costs equivalent to the carbon emissions generated during the production of six major items—steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizer, electricity, and hydrogen—imported into the EU, separate from existing tariffs. This could become a burden for domestic export manufacturing companies. Extracting critical minerals from discarded electronics is considered to result in lower carbon emissions compared to traditional mining. Director Lee said, "This can also help enhance the ability to respond to the mandatory use of recycled materials in product manufacturing in the global market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.