The Korean vessel MT Hankuk Chemi on Jan. 4 was seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz near Oman. (Yonhap News)

By Jung Joo-ri and Lee Jihae

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Feb. 2 welcomed Iran's decision to release the crew of the seized Korean vessel MT Hankuk Chemi after around a month of detention.

The ministry said First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun spoke on the phone with Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for 30 minutes, saying "Deputy Foreign Minister Araghchi informed us that the Iranian government decided to initially release all crew (19 members) except for the captain."

Tehran conveyed its stance to have the ship's captain stay to manage the vessel.

Vice Minister Choi said that during the call, he welcomed the decision on the release and urged the Iranian government to do its best to promptly release the captain and the vessel.

The Iranian diplomat pledged to guarantee humanitarian aid and sufficient consular assistance for the captain during the judicial proceedings on marine pollution.

The MT Hankuk Chemi on Jan. 4 was seized by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps in the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine pollution. Twenty crew including five Koreans and Myanmarese, Vietnamese and Indonesians were taken into custody at Bandar Abbas, a port on the southern Iranian coast. 

The Korean government on Jan. 10 sent a delegation to Iran led by Vice Minister Choi to negotiate the crew's release.

etoilejr@korea.kr