SEOUL (REUTERS) - A South Korean trade official has been kidnapped in Libya, the foreign ministry in Seoul said on Monday.

A foreign ministry official confirmed the identity of the kidnapped man as Han Seok Woo, the head of trade relations at the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency in Libya.

Yonhap News Agency said four men abducted Mr Han when he was leaving for work at 1am Seoul time on Monday. It said there had been no word yet from the kidnappers.

His whereabouts and the reason for the abduction were unknown.

Han took the post in July 2012 and was operating the office by himself with a number of interns, according to Yonhap.

South Korea's trade volume with Libya topped US$949 million (S$1.2 billion) as of last August, KOTRA's Tripoli branch website said, with automobiles making up half of its exports to Libya.