[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The Dong-gu Council of Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 22nd that it adopted a resolution urging the immediate withdrawal of the claim for reimbursement of search and rescue costs by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the late Captain Kim Hong-bin.
On the 22nd, the Dong-gu Council held the 2nd plenary session of the 294th Dong-gu Council extraordinary meeting and unanimously adopted the "Resolution Urging the Withdrawal of the Claim for Reimbursement of Search and Rescue Costs for the Late Captain Kim Hong-bin," proposed by all members of the Dong-gu Council.
Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has caused disappointment among many citizens by claiming reimbursement for search and rescue costs from the Gwangju Metropolitan City Mountaineering Federation, to which Captain Kim belonged.
In the resolution, the Dong-gu Council stated, "Captain Kim was a representative mountaineer of the Republic of Korea who was the first disabled person to summit the highest peaks of the seven continents and all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters, promoting Korea to the world and providing comfort and hope to the people exhausted by COVID-19."
It continued, "The state has the duty to protect the lives, bodies, and property of its citizens, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must return to its original stance of protecting overseas nationals, immediately withdraw the claim for reimbursement against the Gwangju Metropolitan City Mountaineering Federation, and strongly demand that such cases never recur through legislative supplementation."
Chairman Kim Jae-sik expressed, "I once again offer my deep condolences to the late Captain Kim Hong-bin, who can be regarded as a true symbol of human victory who gave dreams and hope to many living in this era, and to his bereaved family," adding, "I sincerely hope that the claim for reimbursement will be withdrawn through the adoption of this resolution, which embodies the determined will of all members of the Dong-gu Council today."
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