Residents of eastern Ukraine on their way to escape▶ Click here for a larger view
As wars reached a climax with Russia’s approval of the independence of Ukraine’s Donbass, the government held an emergency meeting to evacuate and secure the safety of the 60 remaining Korean residents in Ukraine.
On the morning of the 22nd, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an emergency meeting of the Ukraine Response Task Force (TF) presided over by 2nd Vice Minister Choi Jong-moon and discussed ways to evacuate and evacuate the people.
Vice-Minister Choi spoke directly with the Ukrainian ambassador to Ukraine to check the safety situation of the Korean people and to maintain a response posture in case of an emergency.
Currently, there are 63 Koreans remaining in Ukraine.
“As of the end of January, the number of Koreans residing in Ukraine, which once stood at around 600, has decreased to 63 as of today, due to the active persuasion efforts of our diplomatic mission,” said Choi Young-sam, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The government is continuously persuading the Ukrainian embassy to leave the country to a safe area as soon as possible,” Choi said.
As of 6 pm local time on the 21st, there are 45 Koreans residing in Ukraine, including 14 missionaries, 4 international students, self-employed people and permanent residents, which excludes 10 Koreans from Crimea and government officials. The number decreased from 565 on the 27th of last month to one-ninth in a month.
Among them, there will be additional Koreans leaving the country soon, so the number of remaining Koreans is expected to decrease further.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with reporters on the same day and explained, “There are a total of 36 people who have expressed their intention to withdraw so far.” .
“The rate of decline is not as fast as we thought,” he said.
On the same day, the embassy re-announced on the website of the consulate a letter advising local Koreans to leave a safe area as soon as possible.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nailed it, saying, “We do not plan to withdraw the embassy,” and said, “The protection of overseas citizens comes first.”
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emergency meeting of Koreans evacuation… Maintenance of military transport aircraft deployment posture (comprehensive)▶ Click here for a larger view
The Ministry of National Defense also said, “We are closely monitoring the situation,” and will actively cooperate if there is a request for repatriation of Koreans.
At a regular briefing on the same day, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Boo Seung-chan said, “The Ministry of National Defense will actively cooperate with the repatriation of Korean nationals abroad if there is a request regarding this situation.” We are maintaining a close coordination system with institutions and countries,” he said.
However, he said, “There has been no request for support from the Ministry of National Defense so far,” he said. “We are closely monitoring the development of the situation.”
An official from the Ministry of National Defense also said, “Although a considerable number of people have already evacuated to neighboring countries,” he said, “We will not foresee the situation and closely monitor the situation and take immediate action if necessary.”
The Ministry of National Defense plans to maintain readiness to deploy military transport aircraft in a timely manner if support is needed for the relocation of Koreans overseas in case of emergency.
In Ukraine, it is possible for Koreans to move to neighboring countries by land, so the local mission is continuously encouraging Koreans and expatriates to evacuate.
Since the 16th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened temporary offices in Lviv, Ukraine and Psemisil, Poland to check evacuation and evacuation plans in case of emergency.
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