Korea's need for Iranian Oil

Article

The above editorial is from the moderate-conservative newspaper the Donga-illbo. The article discusses the impact of loosing access to Iranian oil access and what that can mean to South Korea. The result? Recession if Korea is lucky and the price of Saudi Crude (which is the only alternative to the Iranian source) rises only moderately. If unlucky, the sharp rise in fuel could cause stagflation, according to the article.

The article implies that currently, South Korea depended on Iranian sources for around 10% of its fuel needs and whatever happens, economic hardship is inevitable. Furthermore, trade with Iran has been growing for last several years, with the last year (2010 fig) ending at figure of US $126 Million alone. At the same time, the article all but concedes that defying America would be not only political, but economic suicide, as it notes that keeping the America friendly is of critical importance to the Korean export economy.