(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ko Dong-wook = On the 7th, the Blue House refuted Ukraine's criticism of Korea by quoting a foreign media report that "Korea supplied diesel and other petroleum products to Russia," saying, "Please refrain from making public comments that could distort Korea's related policies or damage international trust without sufficiently verifying the facts."
Kang Yu-jeong, chief spokesperson of the Blue House, said in a written briefing that day, "Our government has been closely cooperating with the international community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has consistently implemented sanctions and export controls against Russia," adding, "The government has clearly explained this position in recent reports such as the Guardian."
He pointed out, "Nevertheless, it is untrue and inappropriate for an official from the Office of the President of Ukraine to publicly state, citing reports, as if 'Korea helped alleviate the effects of Russia's raw material shortage and loss of refining capacity, and through this took actions that ran counter to its sanctions policy against Russia', based on individual transactions in which key facts such as the transaction subject, country of origin, and final buyer were not confirmed."
He added, "The government is currently closely checking the facts and export control-related matters through relevant agencies, and plans to take necessary measures if a problem is identified."
In addition, the Blue House also provided a detailed explanation regarding the Guardian report that Ukraine used as the basis for its criticism.
An official from the National Security Office first assumed, "Currently, refined oils such as diesel and jet fuel are not included in the 1,402 items subject to Korea's export controls to Russia."
He continued, “It is not confirmed whether Korean fuels, such as diesel, are being exported,” and added, “According to trade statistics from August of last year to August of this year, diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel are not being exported from Korea to Russia.”
This official said, “Regardless of whether the country of origin is Korea, there has been no case in which these items were exported after going through customs clearance procedures at customs,” and added, “Relevant authorities will determine whether domestic law has been violated by determining the facts regarding whether the destination has been misrepresented.”
This is interpreted as confirmation that not only are petroleum products not sanctioned items under Korea's export control system, but the actual export of the items in question was not carried out through official procedures.
The Guardian also previously reported that oil product trading did not violate Korean law and pointed out that some ships listed their destination as a third country and then turned around and headed for Russia.
An official from the National Security Office said, "Korea's exports to Russia have significantly decreased from $10 billion in 2021 to $4 billion in 2025, and major exports are limited to general industrial products and humanitarian items such as passenger cars, cosmetics, and medical devices." “It is,” he emphasized.
Previously, the British daily Guardian reported on the 6th (local time) that between July and August of this year, seven oil tankers loaded a total of more than 176,000 tons of petroleum products from various countries in Korea and transported them to the Russian Far East, including Vladivostok.
Then, Vladislav Vlasiuk, an aide in charge of sanctions in the Ukrainian President's Office, cited this article on Facebook on the same day and said, "It contrasts sharply with Korea's sanctions policy (against Russia)," and claimed, "Imports from Korea actually helped offset the impact of Russia's loss of its own oil refining capacity."
