Iran President Urges Lifting of Frozen Payments for Korean Crude Oil Exports

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran, has requested South Korea to release the frozen oil export payments due to U.S. sanctions on Iran.

On the 12th (local time), President Rouhani stated, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, "It is absolutely unacceptable that South Korea prohibits the use of central bank resources to purchase basic goods, medicines, and humanitarian supplies from Iran."

President Rouhani added, "We expect the South Korean government to lift this restriction as soon as possible." He also instructed the central bank governor to identify legal measures regarding this issue.

The head of the Iran-Korea Chamber of Commerce estimated that the amount of Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks ranges from $6.5 billion (approximately 7.8 trillion KRW) to $9 billion (approximately 10.8 trillion KRW).

Earlier, Abdolnaser Hemmati, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, urged the release of the frozen oil export payments in an interview with Bloomberg News on the 10th, criticizing South Korean banks for ignoring reasonable international financial agreements.

South Korea and Iran conducted trade through won-denominated settlement accounts under the approval of the U.S. government in 2010. When Korean refining and petrochemical companies importing Iranian crude oil and gas condensate deposited payments into the Central Bank of Iran's won accounts opened at Woori Bank and IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, Korean exporters could withdraw export payments from these accounts in a set-off manner. However, with the strengthening of U.S. sanctions on Iran, such transactions have ceased.

The U.S. had granted South Korea a temporary exemption for oil transactions with Iran, but ultimately all transactions were halted.

Iran's demand is interpreted as a request to use these funds for importing Korean-made medicines and medical equipment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The South Korean government is reportedly in discussions with the U.S. regarding this matter.

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