A senior Ukrainian official said Tuesday his country wants South Korean satellite TV channels to fill in for blocked Russian ones, according to a news report.

Ukraine blocked 77 Russian satellite TV channels over the past two years amid the worst-ever bilateral ties over the Crimea issue.

Instead, dozens of new Ukrainian TV channels began services.

"We don't have enough. So we want Korean (TV satellite channels)," the Interfax news agency quoted Yuri Artemenko, the head of Ukraine's national council on television and radio broadcasting, as saying during a "Media Week" event in Kiev.

He went on to say that South Korea is one of the leaders in the production of TV formats.

Ukrainian people will be "grateful" for enjoying more South Korean TV programs, he added.

In Ukraine, the number of satellite TV channels has jumped 20 percent to 122 since 2004, but that of Russian ones dropped to 14 from more than 70. (Yonhap)