President Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday that "a situation is coming where we have no choice but to accept some risk" regarding oil supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict. His remarks were interpreted as suggesting the need to secure supply through alternative sea routes including the Red Sea, provided safety conditions are met, even if some risk is involved.
Lee made the comments at a Cabinet meeting and fourth emergency economic review session held at Cheongwadae after examining the possibility of importing crude oil via Red Sea routes and the risk of maritime blockades amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Lee asked Hwang Jong-woo, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, "Is Saudi Arabia's Yanbu Port the only country we can currently import from through the Red Sea?" Hwang replied, "We issued a navigation restraint advisory on March 1, and imports have not proceeded since then."
Lee then asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Iran is now threatening to mobilize Yemen's Houthi rebels to blockade the strait — what is the actual likelihood of execution?" When Foreign Minister Cho Hyun responded that "they lack the capability to actually blockade the Red Sea the way they could the Strait of Hormuz," Lee pressed further, asking, "Does that mean Iran would rather stop at threats and act through the Houthis instead of attacking directly?" Cho said, "The probability of a complete blockade by Houthi forces alone is low, but they are capable of threatening through random attacks."
In response to the situation, Lee said, "If oil import shipments had been made through the Red Sea over the past month, quite significant volumes could have come in." He added, "Even with additional tankers deployed, daily supply capacity is only 5 million barrels. A single tanker carries about 2 million barrels, they say. Those ships need supply commitments from Saudi Arabia before they can actually load cargo, and we still don't know whether contracts have been finalized." He pointed out that "there are not that many alternative routes for importing crude oil."
Lee particularly stressed, "If we impose a complete ban just because there is some risk, it would seriously affect the entire crude oil supply for Korea, posing a major threat to the nation and its people. We need to strike the right balance." He added, "If we block and prohibit everything with even a little risk for the sake of 100% safety, how would we handle the domestic oil supply problem? That must also be taken into account."