▲ Ambassador Yoo Jung-hyun and Iranian Central Bank President Hemmati at the meeting at the Korean Embassy on the 21st
The Iranian government said it had agreed with the Korean government on the transfer and use of frozen funds in Korea.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported on the 22nd local time that Iranian central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati met with Ambassador Yoo Jeong-hyun at the Korean embassy in Tehran the day before, and agreed to use frozen assets in Korea.
The Iranian government also announced through its official website that an agreement has been reached with South Korea regarding the use of frozen assets.
According to the Iranian government’s website, the two sides have agreed to transfer Iranian frozen assets in Korea to where Iran wants, and the Iranian Central Bank has decided to notify the South Korean side of the size of the transfer assets and the destination bank.
The IRNA news agency said Ambassador Yu said, “The Korean government is ready to take all necessary steps to use all Iranian assets in Korea, and there are no limits or restrictions on this.”
“Iran welcomes the change of attitudes and strengthening cooperation in other countries,” said Hemmati. “The central bank will continue the legal process to demand compensation for the refusal of cooperation with Iran by Korean banks in the past few years.” I said.
Iranian funds frozen in Korea are estimated at $7 billion, or about 7.6 trillion won in Korean money.
Iran opened accounts in Korean won with IBK Industrial Bank and Woori Bank under the name of the Iranian Central Bank in 2010, and received payments for crude oil exports through these accounts.
However, the U.S. government put Iran’s central bank on sanctions lists in 2018, stopping transactions through the account, and the Iranian government has demanded that the frozen funds be lifted.
(Photo = Capture of Iranian government website, Yonhap News)