Iran crisis leaves Korea’s oil, gas supplies unthreatened — for now

Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jeong-kwan speaks during a meeting with foreign chambers of commerce in Korea in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

• Published Mar 1, 2026 1:57 PM KST

Middle East accounts for about 70% of Korea’s oil imports

Korea’s oil and gas imports from the Middle East have remained largely unaffected by the U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a joint operation that began Saturday (local time), the Korean government said Sunday.

Moon Shin-hak, first vice minister of trade, industry and energy, held a second emergency meeting with officials from the foreign, energy, and oceans ministries, as well as state-run companies in the trade, energy, and power sectors, to assess how the crisis could affect Middle Eastern supplies of key energy resources to Korea.

The meeting followed an initial session convened late Saturday by Industry Minister Kim Jeong-kwan shortly after the attack began.

The back-to-back meetings, attended by officials from the Korea National Oil Corp., the Korea Gas Corp., and the Korea Electric Power Corp., confirmed Korea has secured enough oil reserves to last for months in the event of supply disruptions. Authorities added that current gas reserves exceed the country’s mandatory stockpile requirement.

The situation, however, still poses risks to Korea. Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz on its southern coast, blocking a future passage for oil tankers heading to Korea. The blockage of the key global logistics path came after the Korean authorities predicted Iran could seal the strait and agreed that alternative routes must be prepared for Korea-bound tankers using the path.

The situation, however, still poses risks to Korea as Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned vessels that no ships would be allowed to transit the waterway — a critical global shipping route — raising concerns about future oil tanker passages to Korea. The blockage of the key logistics corridor followed the Korean authorities’ earlier warnings that Iran might seal the strait, and underscored the need to prepare alternative routes for Korea-bound tankers.

The government said that since the 2023 Red Sea crisis, major Korean shipping companies have rerouted vessels around the southern tip of South Africa, adding that the current situation poses no immediate threat to maritime logistics for large ships delivering energy resources.

The government also warned that oil and gas prices could fluctuate to varying degrees depending on how the crisis unfolds.

“Korea’s total exports to the Middle East accounted for only 3 percent last year. But if the crisis persists, it could drive up oil prices and logistics costs. The impact would be significant,” the government said in a statement.

“Korean companies expecting trade disruptions due to the crisis will receive government support, including assistance with logistics costs and access to overseas logistics centers.”

The government said Korea’s key imports from the Middle East are largely limited to oil and gas. More than 70 percent of the country’s crude oil imports come from the region, primarily from Saudi Arabia, with smaller volumes supplied by the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar.

Outside the Middle East, the United States is Korea’s largest nonregional crude supplier, followed by Russia, Indonesia and several South American countries in smaller amounts.

Australia is Korea’s largest supplier of natural gas, while the Middle East accounts for up to 20 percent of its gas imports, mostly from Qatar.

The industry ministry said Saturday it appointed the head of its Office of Industry, Trade and Resource Security to lead an emergency task force in response to the crisis.