[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] On the 24th of last month, a Korean missionary couple who had been kidnapped in Haiti was released after 16 days.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 12th that the Korean missionary couple, who had been abducted by an unidentified kidnapping group in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, on June 24th, was safely released around noon local time on the 10th in the outskirts of the capital.
Following a medical examination immediately after their release, they were found to be generally in good health and departed Haiti by air on the afternoon of the 11th. They are expected to return home via a third country.
The missionary couple was kidnapped by a gang while traveling by vehicle near the border area between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. At that time, three other nationals were also kidnapped, and they were also released.
According to officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about 150 armed criminal organizations operate in Haiti, with ransom being their main source of income. There are also statistics from Haitian civic groups reporting that more than 3,000 kidnapping incidents occurred in 2020 alone.
Due to the unstable situation in Haiti, the government issued a withdrawal advisory for the entire country of Haiti starting in 2019.
As kidnapping incidents occurred frequently, in February and April of this year, the government recommended missionary organizations to refrain from travel and withdraw dispatched personnel, and held a safety meeting with missionary groups on the 17th of last month, just days before the kidnapping.
Immediately after recognizing the incident, the government operated the Overseas Citizens Protection Headquarters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters. On the 25th of last month, First Vice Minister Choi Jong-geon spoke with Claude Joseph, the Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Haiti, requesting attention and cooperation to resolve the incident.
Lee In-ho, Ambassador to Haiti and concurrently Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, led a rapid response team to the site and consulted with the Chief of the Haitian National Police and the Director of the Central Judicial Police on the direction of the response to the incident.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the government has been working closely with the Haitian government and others under the principles of prioritizing the safety of its citizens and not negotiating directly with the kidnapping group, striving for a prompt release.
Meanwhile, following the assassination of the Haitian president on the 7th, the government has urged local Korean residents to refrain from going out due to concerns about worsening security.
There are about 150 Korean residents in Haiti, mainly engaged in the garment industry.
The rapid response team plans to remain on site even after the release of the missionary couple to discuss with Korean community organizations plans to evacuate residents in case of emergency.
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