Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Assessing Status of Middle East Energy Facilities... Advises Korean Nationals to Depart or Evacuate

Jina Kim Convenes Emergency Meeting
Continuous Safety Alerts Issued... Departure and Evacuation Strongly Advised

As military tensions rise in the Middle East, the government has issued an evacuation advisory for Korean nationals and businesses currently residing in the region.

Jina Kim, Second Vice Foreign Minister, is reporting at the Cabinet Meeting held on the 3rd at the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 23, Jina Kim, Second Vice Foreign Minister, urgently convened a meeting of the Headquarters for the Protection of Overseas Koreans that afternoon. She assessed the status of major energy facilities in the Middle East and called on overseas diplomatic missions and relevant ministries to make every effort to ensure the safety of Korean nationals in nearby areas.

Vice Minister Kim referenced the recent warning from the United States to Iran, stating that it would destroy power plants in Iran unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened within 48 hours. She stressed, "Please conduct a thorough review of energy-related facilities in the region and confirm the status of our nationals and businesses located in and around the affected areas."

She further added, "Make full use of all available communication channels to continuously disseminate safety notices, and persistently and strongly advise Korean nationals to depart or evacuate."

In response, each diplomatic mission stated that they are closely monitoring relevant developments and will actively support prompt evacuation and withdrawal in case of emergency to thoroughly safeguard the safety of Korean nationals.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Iraq announced that, starting today and over the next two days, about 20 resident staff and others will evacuate to neighboring countries. The embassy also stated that it would support their departure by contacting the Iraqi government and border checkpoints to request cooperation.

Meanwhile, Vice Minister Kim emphasized that the impact of the current situation in the Middle East on the domestic energy supply and the overall economy is also highly significant, and called for further strengthening of preparedness through enhanced cooperation among relevant ministries and agencies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.