Choi Jong-kyung-kyung, the first official of South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, left Seoul, South Korea, for Iran today (10th) to seek the release of detained South Korean tankers and crews as soon as possible.
South Korean foreign ministry officials say Choi Jong-jian is expected to meet with Iran’s deputy foreign minister and other senior foreign ministers.
On the 4th, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran detained the tanker Korea Chemical on the 4th on the grounds that the tanker Korea Chemical had violated the relevant laws and regulations of the marine environment on many occasions.
Yonhap reported that the arrest of the South Korean tanker coincided with the tension between South Korea and Iran over the asset freeze.
Affected by the additional U.S. sanctions against Iran, two South Korean banks have frozen about $7 billion of Iranian assets since September 2019. Iran has repeatedly asked South Korea to unfreeze the above assets.
