By Kang Hyun-kyung
Libya released two South Koreans who had been detained for months for violating the local religious law, early Sunday morning, (KST), two days after Rep. Lee Sang-deuk met with Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi.
The release signified that Korea-Libya relations, after having turned sour in June when a Korean agent was deported for collecting intelligence that was off-limits to foreign agencies, were back on track.
Libya is expected to resume consular services in South Korea soon, which were suspended shortly after the spy case.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told reporters that the leader of a Libyan human rights group was present when the local government released the two Korean detainees _ a missionary identified only as his surname Koo and a farm owner identified only as Jeon.
“We were told that the non-profit group leader introduced himself as a secretary-general of the human rights watch, which works under the auspices of a social service organization chaired by the second son of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi,” the foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
“Given his remarks, I suspect that the Libyan leader played a role behind the decision to set them free.”
The foreign ministry official’s remarks came a day after Rep. Lee returned to Seoul after meeting with al-Qaddafi in his hometown in Libya.
Upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, the senior lawmaker told reporters that the 30-year-old trust-based ties between the two nations helped him to reach a diplomatic breakthrough with the Libyan leader during the meeting.
“There was no backdoor deal,” said Lee, an elder brother of President Lee Myung-bak.
“I confess that the negotiation process was 'painful.' But trust that the reputation of Korean businesses earned from Libya and its people in the past three decades helped a lot.”
Rep. Lee, who was called upon as a special envoy by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to resolve the touchy issue concerning the spy case, said the Libyan leader was deeply interested in technology transfer and the training of technology professionals from Korea.
During the conversation with Lee, al-Qadafi was quoted as saying that he regretted that Korea was not enthusiastic about his country although Libya made earnest efforts to help South Korean firms do business there.
In an effort to help the Libyan leader better understand Korea’s sincerity to restore bilateral relations, Rep. Lee proposed that the two governments form a joint economic committee to discuss their mutual interests.
Their talks went smoothly and the breakthrough came four months after the espionage case and the suspension of consular services by Libya.
Following the spy case, Koo and Jeon were arrested by the Libyan law enforcement authorities for violating the local religion law in June and July, respectively. The two Koreans were in custody since then.
If the espionage case was not resolved and this affected negatively the trade relations between the two countries, industry experts said automakers would suffer a great deal. Automobiles account for approximately 40 percent of South Korean exports to Libya.
Bilateral trade between Korea and Libya reached $1.2 billion last year.