Blue House: "Ukraine's claims are inaccurate and inappropriate... Refrain from distorting South Korea's policies and undermining its credibility"

On October 7, the Cheong Wa Dae urged the Ukrainian government to “refrain from making public statements that could distort the Republic of Korea’s policies or undermine international trust without first sufficiently verifying the facts.” It rebutted Ukraine’s claims that South Korea had exported diesel and other products to Russia, saying they were “not true and inappropriate.”

In a written briefing that afternoon, Kang Yujeong, senior presidential spokesperson, said, “Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our government has closely coordinated with the international community and consistently implemented sanctions against Russia and export controls.” She added that the government’s position “remains unchanged.”

Earlier, on October 6 local time, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an adviser on sanctions to the Ukrainian president’s office, shared on Facebook a foreign media report claiming that “South Korea supplied diesel and other products to Russia” and wrote that this “stands in stark contrast to South Korea’s sanctions policy toward Russia.” The Guardian reported that in July and August, seven tankers made 14 trips from South Korean ports, including Ulsan and Yeosu, carrying a total of 176,000 tons of petroleum products to Russia.

Regarding the matter, Kang said, “The government has already clearly explained its position in response to recent reports, including one by The Guardian, about fuel shipments from South Korea to Russia.” She criticized the Ukrainian president’s office official for publicly claiming, based on an individual transaction cited in The Guardian’s report—without verifying key facts such as the parties to the transaction, the product’s origin, or the end buyer—that South Korea had helped ease Russia’s fuel shortage and mitigate the effects of its loss of refining capacity, thereby acting contrary to its existing sanctions policy toward Russia. “That claim is not true and is inappropriate,” she said.

She added, “The government is currently working through relevant agencies to carefully verify the facts and matters related to export controls, and will take necessary measures if any problems are confirmed.”

A Cheong Wa Dae National Security Office official also said, “It has not been confirmed that South Korean-made fuel, including diesel, was exported.” The official added that the relevant authorities would determine whether domestic laws had been violated, including whether destinations were falsely declared, after establishing the facts.

The official said, “The government operates a transparent and predictable export control system in coordination with other countries under multilateral frameworks, including the four major international export control regimes.” The official added, “Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, exports of strategic items to Russia have been completely prohibited, and exports of 1,402 items outside the strategic-item category that could be used for military purposes have also been controlled by making them subject to case-by-case approval.”

According to the government, South Korea’s exports to Russia fell by about 60%, from $10 billion in 2021 to $4 billion last year. Russia’s share of South Korea’s total exports also declined over the same period, from 1.5% to 0.6%. “Despite the economic burden on the public and businesses, we have implemented export controls on Russia to join the international community’s efforts for peace,” the National Security Office official stressed.

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