23 Koreans Abducted in Afghanistan

According to the latest reports, 23 South Koreans were abducted by terrorists on July 19 in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.

An official from the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on July 20, “The Koreans are presumed to have been kidnapped by terrorists while in a bus traveling from the Afghan capital of Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar in July 19 afternoon (local time).

The abducted South Koreans are 20 evangelical activists from Saemmul Church in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, and three staff members of the Institute of Asia Culture & Development (IACD), a Christian NGO. The three IACD members were supposed to guide the 20 Koreans in Afghanistan.

Those 20 South Koreans, the church’s Reverend Bae Hyeong-gyu (44 years), including 13 female and 7 male followers, went to Afghanistan on July 13 for voluntary activities with plan of returning home on July 23.

Afghanistan falls into the category of a limited travel area (third degree in traveling warning). The Korean government recommends that travelers avoid going there.

The Associated Press reported, “Local Taliban insurgents are holding 18 Koreans and currently an investigation is ongoing. The Koreans are all safe for now.”

According to the AP, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said in a satellite call, “ We will conduct an investigation about who they are and what they were doing in Afghanistan, When the investigation ends, the Taliban’s senior members will decide what to do with them, but for now all those Koreans are safe.”

Taliban militants have snatched foreign nationals several times while escalating their offenses to overthrow the Afghan government as well as to drive out U.S. soldiers and NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan.

The South Korean government has established a task force within the foreign ministry and an on-site supervision headquarters at the Korean embassy in Afghanistan. At the presidential office, counter-terrorism meetings are underway to find out measures with all the related government agencies, such as the Foreign Ministry, National Intelligence Service and National Police Agency. The government has also decided to dispatch a special team with a minister-level delegation chief to the site as soon as possible.

The Foreign Ministry has called the Afghan acting ambassador in Seoul, Ahmad Jawid Azadzoi, to the ministry and asked for cooperation including stopping visa issuances to Koreans all together.

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