Abdolnaser Hemmati made the remarks in a meeting with South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun in Tehran.
Hoping that the talks will be fruitful, Hemmati said that South Korean banks have blocked Iranian money for years and do not attend to the issue, and even do not pay interest on the deposits.
Hemmati said that the main challenge of Iran with South Korea is the blocked money.
He added that Iran has had resources in other countries as well but has been able to use them despite the US sanctions. However, Iran has not been able to use its money in South Korea in spite of the fact that the country has been a major trade partner of Iran.
Hemmati noted that he had made a visit to Seoul in early June 2019 and had meetings with South Korean officials who made promises to cooperate but they have not been fulfilled, adding that there has been some correspondence with Seoul which have had no results and Iran cannot still use its money even for buying goods and medicine.
He went on to say that seven billion dollar of Iranian money has been blocked in Seoul for two years, adding that the main goal of the negotiations is resolving banking problem.
Iran expects South Korea to decide about the issue independently and without taking US demands into consideration, he said, adding that Iran believes that Seoul should not base its old friendly relations with Iran on ties with other countries and a person like US President Donald Trump.
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun is in Tehran to hold meetings with senior Iranian officials.
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