President Lee Jae Myung applauds with attendees at the San Francisco AI Summit held at The Midway in San Francisco on Friday (local time). [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung applauds with attendees at the San Francisco AI Summit held at The Midway in San Francisco on Friday (local time). [Yonhap]

The European Union has decided to exempt South Korea's imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia's Sakhalin II project from sanctions through March 2028. President Lee Jae Myung welcomed the decision, saying it would be "a great help to people's daily lives and our economy."

Lee, currently on a tour of the United States and South America, said Saturday on his X account that he had received "welcome news that our companies have been recognized as exempt from EU sanctions on Russian LNG." He added that he expected the exemption to "be of great help to people's daily lives and our economy at a time when uncertainty in energy supply is growing."

Lee said he had personally explained the need for an exemption to EU leaders at a summit in June, urging their attention to South Korea's energy security. "I will continue to do my utmost to protect the lives of our people and national interests through thorough and seamless responses," he said.

Korea Gas Corporation holds a long-term contract with the Sakhalin II project and has been importing about 1.5 million tons of LNG annually under the deal, which runs from April 2008 through March 2028. The South Korean government had repeatedly asked the EU to grant a sanctions exemption to ensure the contract could be fulfilled without disruption.

The EU adopted its 21st package of sanctions against Russia on Thursday (local time), including a provision exempting South Korea from restrictions on LNG produced by the Sakhalin II project through March 2028.

The South Korean government said the outcome reflected ongoing consultations between the two sides on energy security and trade issues following the Korea-EU summit held last month in Brussels, Belgium.


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