S. Korea says no confirmed fuel exports to Russia, vows strict enforcement of export controls

Seoul, October 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is rigorously enforcing its export restrictions on Russia, the foreign ministry announced on Thursday, emphasizing that no confirmed shipments of commercial fuel to Russia have been detected through customs checks. Presently, the country has banned the export of strategic commodities to Russia, while imposing case-by-case export permits on an additional 1,402 non-strategic items that could be repurposed for military use, according to the ministry's statement.

These controlled commodities are selected through interagency deliberations, weighing their military applicability, economic repercussions, and international cooperation.

As a result of South Korea's participation in global initiatives to uphold peace through export controls, the value of outbound shipments to Russia dwindled to US$4 billion in 2025 from $10 billion in 2021, the ministry reported. This stance, despite the financial strain on companies and the public, was highlighted in the ministry's remarks following a report by the Britain-based Guardian on Tuesday.

The Guardian claimed that over 176,000 tons of petroleum products, primarily diesel, were loaded at South Korean ports and transported to Russia's Far East in July and August. The South Korean presidential office dismissed such claims as baseless the following day.

The ministry affirmed that official trade figures showed zero exports of diesel, jet fuel, or gasoline from South Korea to Russia via the customs clearance process between 2025 and August 2026. It also stressed that commercial fuel is not subject to South Korea's export controls on Russia, suggesting that merely loading such products at South Korean ports does not inherently contravene domestic law.

The government pledged to further scrutinize the vessels' actual routes and declared destinations to ascertain whether any domestic regulations were infringed. Should violations be substantiated, the ministry added, action would be taken in accordance with the law. The ministry reiterated its commitment to rigorously implementing export controls on Russia and intensifying efforts to detect and prevent any attempts to circumvent these restrictions as a dedicated contributor to the international community.