In early January Libya informed the South Korean government that it would pardon two Korean pastors accused of violating Libya's religious laws and allow them to leave the country. The pastors were first arrested in mid-2010, reportedly for carrying out missionary work, but their arrest was widely viewed as related to an earlier espionage dispute, which resulted in the expulsion of a Korean diplomat (August 2010, The political scene). The two men were released from detention in October but were refused an exit visa and were arraigned for trial.

Libya moved further to mollify South Korea after South Korean contractors were injured during the housing riots. The contractors reportedly suffered damage of up to US$40m, when rioters stole heavy plant equipment and office equipment and set fire to some of the facilities. The Libyan government stated publicly that it would compensate them in full. Contractors from other countries, including China and Turkey, were also affected.

In a further boost for South Korea, at the end of January, Daewoo Engineering & Construction was awarded a US$204m contract to build a 200-bed hospital in Tripoli, the capital, to be completed by October 2013.

Separately, in mid-January, a court in Berlin jailed two Libyans accused of spying on members of the Libyan opposition in Germany since August 2007. The two men were arrested in May 2010. Based on Libya's behaviour during previous diplomatic disputes with Switzerland and South Korea, it is likely to take punitive action against German companies operating in the country.