A government delegation has departed for Iran to negotiate the early release of a South Korean oil tanker and its crew seized by Iranian authorities earlier this week.

The delegation, led by Koh Kyung-sok, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's African and Middle Eastern affairs bureau, boarded a plane early Thursday and is set to arrive in Iran via Qatar.

Departing for the trip from Incheon International Airport, Koh told reporters that he plans to meet with his counterpart at the Iranian foreign ministry, and will meet others through various channels if that will help efforts to address the seizure.

Seoul's First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun is also scheduled to travel to Iran on Sunday to discuss the seizure and other bilateral issues. 

Koh said that he will prepare for Choi's trip and discuss ways to develop relations between Seoul and Tehran. 

On Monday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps seized the MT Hankuk Chemi carrying 20 crewmembers, including five South Koreans, citing environmental pollution. The ship is currently at a port in Bandar Abbas, a city on Iran's southern coast.