Iran Tracker

Nuclear:

In June 2007, South Korea’s then-foreign minister, Song Min-Sun, supported a diplomatic solution to the international conflict over Iran’s nuclear program.[1] In November 2008, South Korea’s next foreign minister, Yu Myung-Hwan, said that Iran needs to reassure the international community of the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, "the Iranian foreign minister stressed that his country is pushing for a nuclear program for peaceful purposes…In response, Minister Yu said it is important for Iran to gain the confidence of the international community on its nuclear program."[2]

Economic Relationship:

The Islamic Republic and the Republic of Korea traded over $9 billion in goods in 2007, and Iranian Ambassador to South Korea Mohammad Reza Bakhtiari told Iranian Fars News Agency that he hoped the positive trend would continue.[3] Despite disagreements over Iran’s nuclear enrichment activity, Vice President of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency Hong Ki-Wha, and head of Iran’s Investment and Technical and Economic Assistances Organization Mohammad Khaza’i signed a memorandum of understanding in April 2007, in which they agreed to set up a committee to boost trade between their two countries.[4] Kim Sung Gun, South Korea’s parliamentary delegation head to Iran in March 2007, said that Korean companies are anxious to invest in Iran and hopes that the two countries could encourage bilateral investment.[5] In 2008, bilateral trade between Iran and South Korea totaled roughly $10 billion.[6] In May 2009, South Korean ministers participated in a large conference on foreign investment in Iran hosted in Tehran.[7]  According to a Middle East Economic Survey (MEES), Iran exported 157,000 barrels of crude oil per day to South Korea in July 2009.  Though South Korea has decreased total crude oil imports from the Middle East by 14.7 percent since July 2008, the Islamic Republic of Iran remains South Korea’s fourth greatest source for crude oil.[8]   South Korea also attended the Iranian gas forum on September 26-27, 2009 along with Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Netherlands, and Malaysia.[9]

[Click here for more information on South Korea’s business activity with Iran.]

Diplomatic/Military Cooperation:

South Korea and Iran have had disagreements over the past few years on Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities. In January 2007, Ban Ki-Moon, South Korea’s former foreign minister, assumed the position of UN Secretary General. Since assuming office, Moon has supported a number of sanctions against the Islamic Republic for failing to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency, further straining relations between the two countries.[10] Despite these impediments, South Korea and Iran have had a number of official meetings to discuss bilateral trade and political cooperation and have signed a number of memorandums of understanding, including on media cooperation, trade-investment, and technical cooperation between the two.[11] During a March 2009 meeting between National Assembly Speaker of South Korea Kim Hyong-o and Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, Hyong-o expressed his hope that Iran and South Korea expand parliamentary cooperation.[12] In March 2009, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister in Asia and Pacific Affairs suggested that Iran and South Korea cooperate to help establish security in Afghanistan.[13]  In May 2009, the South Korean Vice Cultural Minister Jae-min Shin and the South Korean Ambassador to Tehran Kim Young-mok attended a ceremony entitled “Korea, Sparkling Night in Iran” where both officials expressed the hope that such events would bring about improved political, economic and cultural relations between South Korea and Iran.[14]  In October 2009, South Korea’s Pusan International Film festival will host two Iranian filmmakers, Payman Hagani and Mahmoud Kalari.  The Iranian filmmakers will present their films as well as participate in an educational workshop for aspiring Asian directors.[15]

In November 2009, Iran announced that it was prepared to mediate in resolving the Korean peninsula crisis.  Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Iran welcomes mutual understanding and agreement between South and North Korea to promote peace and stability in the region.  During a meeting with South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Yong-Jon at the end of October 2009, Mottaki said that “mutual cooperation has not been balanced in all fields and we hope to be able to make it more balanced.”  The South Korean senior diplomat responded that “we want promotion of ties in all economic fields and implementing joint projects and deepening bilateral cooperation in direction of mutual interests.”[16]

On January 6, 2010, the head of the Iran-South Korea parliamentary friendship group, Hossein Hashemi, and South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o met in Seoul in order to discuss ways to foster bilateral cooperation, particularl, particularl in the economic and energy sectors.[17] During the meeting, Hyong-o referred to the ample potentials existing on both sides for increasing mutual cooperation, and expressed satisfaction over the growth of bilateral ties between the two countries. On Iran's nuclear issue, he stressed Iran's right to use peaceful nuclear energy, and added "all countries are entitled to use peaceful nuclear energy and we believe Iran's nuclear program is for civilian purposes."[18]