The future of relations between South Korea and Israel under Yoon Suk-yeol is bright, but a lot depends on high-level leadership visits, Israel’s Ambassador to the ROK Akiva Tor told Korea Pro.

In a wide-ranging interview — which covered the recent free trade agreement (FTA), Iranian frozen funds in South Korean banks and the ambassador’s religious work — Tor said relations were “good” under the Moon administration but that he expects the Yoon government will take ties even further.

Historically, Seoul has been wary of strengthening ties with Jerusalem, fearing the reaction of other countries in the Middle East. South Korea has conducted numerous construction projects over the decades and receives the majority of its oil from the region.

However, Tor said Seoul understands that there “really is no reason to put a damper on the relationship with Israel.” He pointed to the Sept. 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as evidence of a changing Middle East.

“It’s not some sort of zero-sum game which is going to have a cost in terms of relations with Saudi Arabia or construction contracts in the Arabian Gulf — they’re not going to be negatively affected.”

Tor admitted that Israel’s “political crisis” in the run-up to upcoming elections could complicate things, but predicted that, international travel permitting, “senior Korean leadership” will visit Israel by early 2023.

“I think it would be amazing if President Yoon visited Israel with a large economic delegation,” Tor said, noting that no South Korean ministers have visited Israel in five years due largely to COVID-19. “It would be transformative, that will take the relationship to a new level.”

When Tor met Yoon shortly after the South Korean election in March, the then-president-elect said that he would like to go to Israel at the earliest opportunity.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-suk yeol delivers a speech at an event in Seoul in July. Ambassador Tor met in March. | Image: Office of the 20th President (July 7, 2022)

FTA HONEYMOON

Tor said earlier this year that South Korea and Israel have been “dating” but that it’s time to get “married.” He told Korea Pro that once the FTA is ratified, you could say that the two countries will enter their honeymoon phase.

South Korea and Israel signed the FTA in May 2021 — Seoul’s first such agreement in the Middle East and Jerusalem’s first in East Asia — and Israel ratified it in April this year. Seoul hasn’t ratified the deal yet, but Tor said he has asked the chairperson of the National Assembly’s foreign affairs and unification committee to give the FTA “top priority” and expects it will be ratified “almost immediately.”

According to Tor, trade between South Korea and Israel has been “way too modest” thus far, amounting to around “$2.7 billion.” “It’s not nearly where we should be. I think we should be 5 or 6 or 7 billion dollars.”

Tor has praised the FTA because not only do the two countries’ economies not compete, but also because it provides a lot of room for cooperation between manufacturing powerhouse South Korea and innovation-focused Israel.

“I’ve been at two factory openings in the last couple months, both of them Israeli innovative companies that have decided to manufacture here in Korea and have Korean partners. I think we need more and more of that,” Tor said. “I also very much want to see the large conglomerates deepening their R&D engagement and innovation acquisition in Israel.”

Ambassador Tor meets South Korean foreign minister Park Jin | Image: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (June 21, 2022)

AMBASSADOR ‘OFTEN’ CONVEYS IRAN THREAT

Tor was careful when commenting on relations between South Korea and Iran, but said he “often” conveys the threat Iran poses to the Middle East.

“I think that there are many countries whose tendency is to see Iran primarily from an energy mercantile perspective,” Tor said, without specifically mentioning South Korea.

South Korea and Iran had enjoyed somewhat friendly relations. Symbolizing the friendship is Tehran Street and Seoul Park, the only street and park named after a foreign city in South Korea and Iran, respectively.

Before a sanctions waiver expired following the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, South Korea was the second-largest importer of Iranian oil. Imports have since plummeted, and $7 billion of Iranian funds remain locked in South Korean banks.

South Korea and Iran have held various meetings over the past few years, including in recent weeks, on how to resolve the frozen funds issue.

“Countries that are not on the receiving end of the hard edge push of Shiite expansionism in the region, I think they’re underestimating how other parts of the world are reacting to Iran’s aggression,” Tor said. “And we feel it in the Middle East every day.”

Tor added that if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, the Middle East would find itself in a situation akin to the Korean Peninsula, which faces threats from North Korea’s weapons program.

But there aren’t just parallels between the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East — there are direct links, too.

North Korea began supplying Iran’s military shortly after the 1979 revolution. All of Iran’s liquid-fueled missiles appear to partly derive from DPRK designs.

Tor said “one has to look at very carefully to see what might be going on between [North Korea and Iran],” since North Korea is a proven nuclear power and Iran has “quite a lot of money” despite sanctions, along with a “deep desire for nuclear weaponry.”

North Korea has proliferated weapons to Iran over the decades | Image: Rodong Simun (March 25, 2022)

RELIGIOUS EXCHANGE

Religion is another area that brings South Korea and Israel together, Tor said, describing the “Christian connection” between the two countries as “remarkable.”

In 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 60,000 South Koreans visited Israel — over double the number from only three years earlier, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. Tor said he believes this figure was trending toward 100,000 annual visitors, but it dropped to 17,000 in 2020.

“I am struggling to convince Korean Air to renew flights to Israel as soon as possible,” he said.

Tor described South Korea’s large churches as “great friends and allies in deepening the relationship between Israel and Korea.” He specifically mentioned the Yoido Full Gospel Church, the world’s largest megachurch, which hosted a prayer breakfast to mark the 60th anniversary of South Korea-Israel relations in April.

The Jewish ambassador also hosts a weekly Bible study on South Korean Christian radio. Tor said the segment, in which he’s asked to bring a “Jewish sensibility” to reading the Bible, shows “a lot of openness” from the broadcaster, Far East Broadcasting Corporation.

As for South Korea’s Jewish community, Tor said it is “uniquely tiny.”

“I try to interact with every single Jewish person in Korea,” he said.

Tor was keen to point out that he also visits a lot of Buddhist temples, maintains good relationships with the Catholic community and hosted all the Muslim ambassadors from countries with diplomatic relations with Israel at his residence last year.

GOING FORWARD

“A lot has to do with what we do,” Tor said when asked about where he sees relations going forward.

“I hope that we’ll see a situation where Samsung, Hyundai, SK and LG have major, major R&D engagement in Israel at a level similar to large American and Japanese firms.” He added that he wants to see South Korean autonomous vehicles leading the market with Israeli code and mobility software.

The ambassador also touched on a “virtuous triangle” between South Korea, Israeli and the UAE — “the two most successful countries in the Middle East — one Arab, one not Arab — and one of the most successful countries in East Asia.”

“Again, the proof will be in the pudding.”

Edited by Bryan Betts