Ukraine has criticized South Korea's Russia policy, citing foreign media reports alleging that South Korea supplied large quantities of petroleum products to Russia.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk, sanctions commissioner at the Office of the President of Ukraine, claimed on social media on the 6th (local time), sharing an article stating that South Korea supplied diesel and other products to Russia, that this "stands in sharp contrast to South Korea's sanctions policy."
Previously, the UK's Guardian reported that, based on an analysis of port records and vessel tracking data, 7 oil tankers transported a total of over 176,000 tons of petroleum products from South Korean ports such as Ulsan and Yeosu to the Russian Far East across 14 trips in July and August.
The report added that the majority of the shipments were diesel, which faced severe supply shortages in Russia following Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries.
In response, Vlasiuk argued that the volume originating from South Korea helped offset the loss of Russia's refining capacity caused by Ukrainian refinery attacks.
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the report.
The Foreign Ministry told the Guardian, "Under the Foreign Trade Act, we have expanded export controls to include not only strategic materials but also up to 1,402 non-strategic items that could be used for military purposes, and we are strictly enforcing them," adding, "As a responsible member of the international community, we support and actively participate in international efforts to end the war in Ukraine and bring about peaceful reconstruction."
South Korea and Ukraine have also recently clashed over the issue of repatriating North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun stated yesterday during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee regarding the diplomatic conflict surrounding the non-disclosure of the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war that he had received "a message containing words of apology" from Ukraine.
However, Minister Cho stated, "There is still some gap compared to the level we expect, so we intend to take firm measures."
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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