The zone is believed to hold an estimated ₩9,000 trillion worth of oil reserves, but due to a lack of cooperation in recent decades, has produced none to date.

The People's Republic of China in recent decades has also showed an increased interest in the area, and has agreed to work with Japan to develop similar oil reserves bordering the JDZ since 2008 without also including South Korea, making the issue a topic of debate mainly inside of the latter.

Japan and South Korea both historically had overlapping claims over the continental shelves in the East China Sea before the establishment of the JDZ, causing the area to be disputed from a lack of compromise.

[3] A resolution for the dispute only became necessary though after a 1969 report by the then U.N. Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, which revealed that the area held petroleum and natural gas reserves in "prolific" amounts[4][5] comparable to that in the Persian Gulf.

[6] In a show of friendly cooperation to resolve the issue during the Cold War[3] and after the relation-straining kidnapping of Kim Dae-jung,[7] the JDZ was established on 30 January 1974.

[1] This concept, which favors a midline border between two countries, would greatly benefit Japan in the event of the end of the agreement as the JDZ lies more than 90% inside of what would be the Japanese EEZ,[1] and weakens South Korea's original claim to the area based on continental shelves.

[13] Representatives of the National Assembly have debated multiple times about the JDZ, such as in 2011 and 2023,[1] calling for a diplomatic solution to avoid a potential future dispute over the region,[1][7] and to 'stop China' from expanding into the area.

[6][11] Aside from the value of natural resources estimated to be in the JDZ, the development zone's geographic location runs through many shipping lanes,[6] and comprises a large part of South Korea's southern maritime access, which generally does not extend far out into the Pacific elsewhere.