A total of 391 Afghans, who helped the Korean government’s activities in their war-torn country, will arrive in Korea today. They are being evacuated amid growing fears of possible Taliban retaliation against those who have aided the United States and its allies, the foreign ministry said, Wednesday.
Upon arrival, they will stay at a government-run training facility in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, which also accommodated hundreds of Koreans airlifted from the Chinese city of Wuhan last year amid mounting fears over COVID-19.
“Some 380 Afghans will be airlifted by military aircraft to Incheon International Airport, Thursday,” Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon said in a briefing. The foreign ministry readjusted the number to 391 later in the day.
“They worked for years at the Korean embassy and with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) as well a hospital and job training center run by the Korean government in Afghanistan,” Choi said.
The evacuees also include their family members, including some 100 children, he added.
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| Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon speaks during a press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Wednesday, to announce the government’s plan to airlift some 380 Afghans who helped Korea in Afghanistan, here. Yonhap |
President Moon Jae-in described the evacuation as the only possible moral choice.
“It was fortunate to be able to safely transport the Afghan employees who worked with our government and their families through delicate preparations,” Moon was quoted as saying by presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.
The President also asked for the public’s cooperation in accommodating the evacuees and expressed his gratitude for their support.
The government initially planned to bring 420 Afghans, but some have decided to stay, while others are opting to go to a third country.
With the militant group retaking power in Afghanistan almost 20 years after being ousted by the U.S., those who supported the Korean government asked its embassy to help them get to safety and bring them to Korea, according to Choi.
“Taking into account the moral responsibility for the serious situation faced by those people who had worked with us, our responsibility as a member of the international community and our international stature as a leading nation that upholds human rights, as well as the fact that many other countries have also been transporting Afghans, we decided in August to bring them to our country,” Choi said.
Initially, the government planned to evacuate them via commercial and charter flights, but with the situation in Kabul deteriorating rapidly, it changed its plans and decided, Aug. 15, to send three military aircraft ― one KC-330 multirole aerial tanker and two C-130 airlift planes.
“They arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, and transported the evacuees from Kabul,” the vice minister said.
According to a senior official of the defense ministry, the KC-330, which can accommodate 300 passengers, and one C-130 will be used to transport the Afghans to Incheon International Airport.
Considering their contributions to the Korean government as well as escalating ill feelings toward Afghan refugees here, Choi said they will arrive here as “persons with special merit,” not refugees.
“We have known those people for up to eight years without any problem,” the foreign ministry official said.
“We understand citizens’ concerns, but the government will make its best efforts to reassure them.”
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| Officials from the justice ministry and Jincheon County Office in North Chungcheong Province hold a meeting with residents at a community center in the county, Wednesday, to explain the government’s decision to house Afghan evacuees at a training center in the region. Yonhap |
After the Afghans arrive here, they will be tested for COVID-19 and transferred to the National Human Resources Development Institute in Jincheon.
“The Afghans will be transferred to the human resources training facility,” Jincheon County Mayor Song Gi-sub said in a meeting with county residents.
“It is the government’s plan to accommodate the Afghans including 100 children in the facility.”
Song added that he would convey any residents’ concerns over their presence in the county to the central government.
The evacuees are said to stay there for six weeks and it remains unclear whether they will settle in Korea or move to a third country.
Meanwhile, the justice minister has decided to grant special stay permits to Afghans who have sojourned here, as part of a humanitarian move for those whose safety could be threatened if they return to their homeland.
According to the ministry, a total of 434 Afghans who have been staying in the country, on either short- or long-term visas, will benefit from the measure. It added that the total includes 72 people staying illegally and 169 people having less than six months left until their authorized period of stay expires.
In March, the government similarly granted special stay permits to approximately 25,000 Myanmar nationals in Korea, one month after a military coup took place in the Southeast Asian country.
