EU Council Exempts South Korea from Russian LNG Sanctions

The European Union's (EU) Council has adopted an exception to its sanctions on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), allowing South Korea and Japan to continue importing LNG from the Sakhalin II project.

The move comes after concerns were raised about a potential disruption in domestic LNG supply, which could have impacted Korea's energy needs. The Sakhalin II project is a long-term contracted by the Korea Gas Corporation to receive Russian LNG until March 2028.

According to the EU Council's announcement, the exception will allow LNG produced in Russia's Sakhalin II project to be transported to South Korea and Japan without being subject to related EU sanctions. The measure aims to ease the side effects of energy supply in partner countries due to sanctions against Russia.