According to SBS News, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced that the Iranian government would ban the screening of Korean dramas if the Korean side did not lift the blockade of 7 billion USD.
The SBS news site reported, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced that the country’s government would ban Korean films if South Korea did not resolve the frozen fund issue
According to the semi-government news agency ISNA, on October 7, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had a meeting with Russian officials in Moscow. He said: “South Korea has been stating for three years that it will solve the freeze fund problem, but it has not acted upon it yet. If they do not fulfill their obligations, we can stop broadcasting Korean dramas through state-run broadcasting.”
Korean dramas became popular in Iran more than 10 years ago thanks to two works, “Jumong” and “Dae Jang Geum.” In particular,” Dae Jang Geum” was broadcast on the national television channel IRIB in the period 2006-2007 and achieved a rating of nearly 90%, according to SBS’s report.
The article said that Korean dramas that are being broadcast in Iran recently include ‘My Country: The New Age,’ ‘Dream of the Emperor,’ ‘The President,’ ‘New Heart,’ and ‘Moon Embracing The Sun.’
In 2010, Iran opened accounts at IBK Industrial Bank and Woori Bank under the name of Iran’s central bank and received crude oil exports through this account, according to SBS News. According to the article, the total amount of money in Iranian accounts at Korean banks is 7 billion USD (8.3 trillion won).
In 2018, the US government imposed sanctions on Tehran (Iran’s capital), this country’s central bank was also put on a frozen list. Following that, two Korean bank accounts containing Iran’s USD 7 billion were also frozen. The Iranian government has repeatedly requested South Korea to unfreeze the funds. “We ask the Korean government to lift the blockade of Iranian financial resources as soon as possible,” Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said during a meeting in April.
Source: Zing News
