Koreans in Neighboring Countries of Iraq Advised to Leave

With the political situation in the Middle East aggravated, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade revealed on June 28 that it would advise Koreans residing in countries neighboring Iraq, such as Saudi Arabia, to leave, while indispensable personnel remain.

One of the ministry authorities said on that day that “the situation in Saudi Arabia in particular has gotten worse. We are considering re-rating the degree of travel danger in Saudi Arabia to the highest grade of three. It was increased from 1st grade to 2nd on June 25.”

Vice Foreign Minister Choi Young-jin said at a luncheon gathering on that day that they saw the number of Koreans staying in Iraq at 52, and added that they firmly advised all those Koreans to leave except for embassy personnel.

According to Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) homepage, the approximate number of Koreans residing in countries surrounding Iraq, which are Saudi Arabia, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Jordan, was 1,100, 1,010, 980, 650, and 180, respectively.

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com