Iran is considering investing some 3 trillion won ($2.49 billion) in its current won-based bank accounts in the Korean capital market, according to Seoul officials Wednesday.

The Korean government is examining possible measures to enable Iran to use the money in the accounts, owned by Iran’s central bank, for capital transactions, such as purchases of Korean stocks, bonds and derivative products, they said.


“We are considering other options to use the won-based banks accounts which have been only used for limited trade between the two countries in the past,” a Finance Ministry official said.

The move comes after the international community lifted its blanket sanctions imposed on Iran in January as the country pledged to freeze its nuclear program.

These bank accounts in Woori Bank and the Industrial Bank were created in September 2010 to bypass trade restrictions and allow the two sides to conduct trade without violating the embargo.

If the government allows the capital transactions, Iran can use the current fund more effectively by investing in Korea while Korea will be able to maintain the won-based accounts. 

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)