Seoul has strongly protested Tokyo's official proclamation of a decision to remove South Korea from its "whitelist" of preferred trade partners. 

A senior Foreign Ministry official delivered the protest and "expressed regret" on Wednesday, saying the Japanese move came despite Seoul’s continuous calls to cease escalating trade tensions between the two countries.

The official urged the Japanese government to immediately retract the “unilateral and unfair” measure and accept South Korea’s proposal to resolve related issues through dialogue. 

Earlier in the day, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry publicly announced that will deprive South Korea of fast-track export clearance as of August 28.