| An armored vehicle rolls down a street outside Donetsk, the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants, in eastern Ukraine, late Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in the Ukraine standoff by recognizing the independence of rebel regions in the country's east. AP-Yonhap |
By Nam Hyun-woo
South Korea remained lukewarm, Wednesday, about joining U.S.-led sanctions against Russia for ordering troops into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. Seoul's stance appears to be affected by the possible economic damage to South Korean companies operating in Russia.
Seoul has been under pressure to join the anti-Russia campaign as the Kremlin uses military force in Ukraine and the U.S. strengthens measures to contain further aggression.
According to a senior Cheong Wa Dae official, Cheong Wa Dae is “looking closely into the situation with various possibilities open.”
“As a member of the international community, we are closely communicating with the U.S. and other related nations,” the official said. “However, it remains uncertain how the situation will unfold, so the government is preparing for multiple scenarios while being open to every possibility.”
The official said the U.S. has been consulting with its allies over sanctioning Russia, but did not specify whether the South Korean government has received an official request to join the sanctions.
When asked if South Korea would join the U.S.-led sanctions against Russia, he declined to comment on further details, noting that South Korea has been discussing the matter through a diplomatic channel.
Earlier, a source familiar with this matter, however, said there has been no official request from the U.S. government calling on Seoul to join the sanctions.
A senior White House official said in a press call Wednesday that the U.S. and its allies and partners _ the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Australia _ have decided to slap sanctions against Russia.
The U.S. announced sanctions on two major Russian banks, political elites and the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline linking Germany.
Canada blocked its citizens from making financial transactions with the two pro-Russia breakaway regions in Ukraine, whose independence Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized. Australia slapped travel and financial restrictions, Japan banned transactions of new Russian bonds on its soil and the European Union also agreed to a package of sanctions against Russia.
| President Moon Jae-in speaks with National Security Advisor Suh Hoon during a National Security Council meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. Yonhap |
An official at Seoul's foreign ministry also reiterated South Korea's initial stance of calling for a “peaceful resolution through dialogue and negotiations” and added that South Korea is “closely monitoring the situation while sharing information with the U.S. and other countries.”
The government's stance is believed to have been affected by concerns about the economic impact on South Korean firms operating in Russia.
Currently, Hyundai Motor, Kia, Samsung Electronics and other big name South Korean firms are operating in Russia. If the sanctions are expanded and dollar transactions become unavailable in Russia, those companies will have to use the Russian ruble, whose value is anticipated to drop in the wake of the sanctions, possibly dragging down South Korean firms' revenues.
When Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, South Korea's exports to Russia declined 54 percent from $10.13 billion in 2014 to $4.69 billion in 2015.
South Korea is also wary of Russia's possible influence on inter-Korean relations.
President Moon's inter-Korean peace initiative has been deadlocked after North Korea test fired a string of ballistic missiles so far this year. To find a breakthrough, the Moon Jae-in administration is seeking China, Russia and other countries with close ties to Pyongyang to help resume stalled talks.
Against this backdrop, Seoul's hardline message on Putin's hostile move in Ukraine will not be helpful for Moon's peace initiative, although experts said the benefits of not imposing sanctions will not be big enough to bring a Russia-led breakthrough in the inter-Korean stalemate.
“Even if Seoul keeps a low profile regarding Russia, chances are slim that President Putin will exert Russia's influence to entice North Korea to return to talks,” said Shin Beom-chul, director of the Center for Diplomacy and Security at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. “It seems that the South Korean government sees no immediate benefit by imposing sanctions on Russia, and seeks to follow the Western side in a passive stance.”