The South Korean government has started imposing preliminary anti-dumping duties of up to 56 percent on imports of coated printing papers from Japan, China, and Finland.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Monday that it is levying a preliminary anti-dumping duty rate of 56.3 percent on coated paper from Japan, 8.98-12.12 percent on imports from China, and 4.64-10.51 percent on Finnish products for four months starting Jan. 22.

The ministry said it plans to levy final anti-dumping duties within four months after the Korea Trade Commission wraps up the investigation. The trade commission in June last year launched an anti-dumping probe at the request of Hansol Paper Co. and two other Korean paper makers that claimed their business was hit by cheap imported goods.

Coated printing papers are used for textbooks, magazines, and shopping catalogues among others. As of 2016, the coated printing paper market in Korea was valued at some 500 billion won ($468 million) or about 500,000 tons. Imports from Japan, China, and Finland represent a quarter of the market.

By Yoon Won-sup and Cho Jeehyun

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