A senior Cheong Wa Dae official on Thursday dismissed growing concerns that Seoul’s plan to join Washington’s tougher sanctions against Iran could negatively impact the local economy.

He also rejected allegations that Seoul bowed to U.S. pressure to participate in the sanctions, stressing that it is something South Korea decided on as a responsible member of the international community.

“The U.S. wants us to take time and gradually reduce the imports in due consideration of the domestic situation ... Should the cuts in the oil imports destabilize the energy market, sanctions could not be implemented,” he told reporters.

“Should the price jump 20 percent after reducing the imports by 20 percent, the sanctions would have little effect. So, worries about the possible price hike stem from your failure to understand the basic premise of the sanctions.”

He added that the sanctions will be implemented when there are sufficient alternatives to Iranian oil so that the oil market continues to remain stable.

His remarks came after Robert Einhorn, the U.S. State Department’s special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, came here earlier this week to discuss the sanctions with Seoul officials and urge its allies to join the sanctions.

South Korea is currently trading with Tehran with its own currency rather than dollars. So, officials and experts said that this could help maintain crucial trade ties with Iran despite the sanctions. Iran has difficulty doing dollar-denominated transactions amid bad ties with the U.S.

From January to November last year, Seoul imported 81.6 million barrels of crude oil from Iran, which accounted for some 9.6 percent of its total oil imports. The annual two-way volume has topped $15 billion.

The official at the presidential official also stressed that it was Seoul’s “voluntary” move to join the sanctions.

“We are the host nation of the Nuclear Security Summit this year and a country that hosted the Group of 20 summit (in 2010). As a responsible member of the international society, we can deal with (Iran’s nuclear) issue as anybody else,” he said.

“South Korea is too big (in terms of its global status) to take a position that we cannot accept North Korea’s nuke programs but can accept Iran’s. We are to join the sanctions to fulfill our duty in the international society voluntarily, not due to any pressure.”

By Song Sang-ho
(sshluck@heraldcorp.com)