The South Korean government is mulling to impose duties in the range of 4.64 percent to 56.30 percent on imports of coated printing papers from Japan, China, and Finland.

The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) said on Thursday that it has proposed antidumping duties of 56.30 percent on coated printing papers from Japan, from 8.98 percent to 12.12 percent on imports from China, and from 4.64 percent to 10.51 percent on Finnish products to the finance ministry.

The duties on Japanese products were high because Japanese makers suspected of unfair trade practices did not cooperate with preliminary investigation.

Coated printing papers are used for textbooks, magazines, and shopping catalogues among others. As of 2016, Korean coated printing paper market is estimated at 500 billion won ($454 million) or about 500,000 ton. Imports from Japan, China, and Finland make up a quarter of the market.

In June, Hansol Paper Co. and two others accused their business were hit by cheap imports.

The trade commission will conduct a full investigation over the next three months and make a final decision by March next year.

By Ko Jae-man and Cho Jeehyun

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