Xinhua -- South Korea has shifted its focus from trade to investments in Iran, the South Korean ambassador to Tehran, Kim Seung-ho, was quoted as saying by Financial Tribune daily on Saturday.

"Trade is like gluing two things but investment is rather a chemical reaction. When two materials react chemically, it is almost impossible to detach them. So the Korean government urges Korean companies to invest more in Iran," Kim said.

The Iranian and Korean companies should apply their common projects to Korea's Eximbank. Then the bank reviews if the project is really profitable or not, the ambassador explained.

Iran signed its biggest credit line deal in recent years with South Korea's Eximbank in August 2017. The deal envisages as much as 8 billion euros (9.54 billion U.S. dollars) in loans provided by South Korean companies to finance various projects in Iran.

Referring to hurdles in the way of foreign investment in Iran, the Korean ambassador said the Islamic Republic needs to improve its business environment to help foreign investors gain a foothold in the country.

Bilateral trade reached the highest level of 6.33 billion U.S. dollars over the past 10 years.