South Korean Embassy in Tehran Meets Detained Sailors... "Directly Confirming Safety"

'Government Delegation' to Proceed with Detention Release Negotiations, Departing for Iran Early Morning on the 7th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directly confirmed the safety of the crew members of the Korean-flagged vessel detained in Bandar Abbas, a southern port city of Iran.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 7th, three staff members from the Korean Embassy in Iran, who were dispatched immediately after the Iranian government's vessel detention incident, met with one Korean crew member of the 'Korea Chemi' ship the day before. The vessel carries about 20 people, including five Koreans, as well as Indonesians, Myanmar nationals, and Vietnamese.

The Korean Embassy in Iran plans to continue providing consular assistance by conducting additional interviews with the detained crew members and arranging phone calls with their families in Korea. They also intend to engage with Iranian business authorities and port agencies to expedite resolving the detention issue through consultations.

Earlier that day, a government delegation tasked with negotiating the release of the detained Korean vessel and crew departed for Iran. The working-level delegation, led by Ko Kyung-seok, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Africa and Middle East Bureau, is scheduled to arrive in Tehran at 11 a.m. local time (4:30 p.m. Korean time).

The delegation plans to meet with counterparts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as counterparts from the humanitarian trade working group. In particular, the delegation intends to request evidence and data related to the Iranian government's claim of the detained vessel's 'repeated violations of maritime environmental regulations' to verify the facts.

Before departure, Director General Ko told reporters, "We plan to request evidence and data exchange regarding the technical issues claimed by Iran," explaining that the Iranian government has yet to present concrete evidence supporting its claims.

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