Photo : YONHAP News
President Yoon Suk Yeol has ordered related ministries to immediately deploy military transport planes to evacuate South Koreans in the Middle East as tensions in the region are rapidly escalating amid Iran’s latest strike on Israel.
Yoon issued the order on Wednesday when he chaired a economic and security emergency meeting on the Middle East crisis as he called on related agencies to take all necessary steps to protect South Koreans in the Middle East.
According to the foreign ministry some 130 Korean nationals are in Lebanon, 110 in Iran and 480 in Israel.
The meeting’s participants checked existing safety measures for overseas Koreans as well as South Korean companies, military units and diplomatic missions operating in the region before reviewing response measures based on possible scenarios.
Participants also decided to keep a close eye on possible ramifications from changes in global oil prices and foreign exchange rates and to promptly respond to any adverse repercussions on the economy.
Yoon instructed related ministries to operate a 24-hour monitoring system under close cooperation with related organizations.