{
  "id": 12072510,
  "title": "Saudi crude share of S. Korea's imports falls below 30% for 1st time in 5 years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/saudi-crude-share-of-s-koreas-imports-falls-below-30-for-1st-time-in-12072510",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-05T04:37:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/economy/20261005/saudi-crude-share-of-s-koreas-imports-falls-below-30-for-1st-time-in-5-years"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "For the first time in five years, Saudi crude oil's share of South Korea's crude imports has fallen below 30%, according to industry data released on Monday. The Korea National Oil Corp. and the Korea Petroleum Association reported that Saudi crude accounted for 29.9% of the country's total crude oil imports from January to August, a decrease from 30.91% in the preceding month. This marks the first time since 2021 that the share has dipped below the 30% threshold. Despite remaining South Korea's largest crude oil supplier, Saudi Arabia's dominance in the market could potentially be surpassed this year if the downward trend persists. If the decline continues, Saudi Arabia's share could fall to third place or lower, potentially falling below the previous low recorded in 1986, according to industry officials. The decrease is attributed to South Korean refiners' efforts to diversify their sources of crude oil in response to geopolitical risks in the Middle East.",
  "summary": "Saudi Arabian crude oil accounted for less than 30 percent of South Korea's crude imports this year, industry data showed Monday, amid efforts by local refiners to diversify their sources of crude following geopolitical risks in the Middle East. According to the data from the Korea National Oil Corp. and the Korea Petroleum Association, Saudi crude accounted for 29.9 percent of the country's…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Saudi crude share of S. Korea's imports falls below 30 pct for 1st time in 5 yrs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/saudi-crude-share-of-s-koreas-imports-falls-below-30-pct-for-1st-time",
        "published": "2026-10-05T02:25:45.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Saudi crude share of S. Korea's imports falls below 30% for 1st time in 5 yrs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/saudi-crude-share-of-s-koreas-imports-falls-below-30-for-1st-time-in",
        "published": "2026-10-05T02:57:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}