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Controversy over “Citizen Protection” by the Korean Embassy in Iraq

Controversy over “Citizen Protection” by the Korean Embassy in Iraq

Posted June. 25, 2004 22:19,   

한국어

While the death of Kim Sun-il raised a question about the Foreign Ministry officers’ service attitude and their ability to deal with risks, an intensive criticism among civilians who returned from Iraq has been raised, with these people saying, “The protection level provided by the Korean Embassy in Iraq is ridiculous.”

Regarding these criticisms, the Foreign Ministry confronted them by saying, “The situation here in Iraq is the same as in a war. We are doing our best. It is simply not possible to please everybody.”

“Not to mention we had no protection, but we had received not a single call.”

Lim Young-sun, a 35 year-old female who served as a peace activist of the “Iraq Peace Network” and had visited Iraq three times last year, told on June 24, “It is an example that shows clearly how disappointing our government’s protection policy of overseas Koreans is.” Ms. Lim originally planned to leave to Iraq on June 26 to monitor the turnover of the political power in Iraq on June 30, but gave up her travel after her Iraqi friends held her back, saying, “The insurgents are threatening they will murder the entire family of the person who helps the Koreans.”

Lim told that those who had visited Iraq multiple times since last year, or who still stayed there, had very negative impressions about the Korean Embassy’s sincerity in protecting Koreans there.

Lim said, “There was no personal security check by the Embassy at all. There is a very big difference, as between the earth and the sky, from the Japanese Embassy who rushes to check even if it is a seemingly insignificant incident.”

Ryu Eun-Ha (29-year-old female), who worked in the same group and returned from Iraq some days ago, said that she was treated in a cold manner by the Embassy in March last year in the midst of the U.S. led Iraqi war.

“The situations in the field cannot be easily determined.”

A Foreign Ministry official who is familiar with the situation in Iraq said, “Communication facilities in Iraq are destroyed by the war and it is not easy to keep contact. Anti-war activists made their independent activities even though we urged them to return to Korea. It was almost impossible to supervise them.”

The Foreign Ministry explained that it is not as easy as it is said to check Koreans arrivals in and departures out of Iraq. Besides, it is in fact not possible for eight diplomats and one local employee to supervise all the Koreans in Iraq.

Han Jae-kwang (32 years old), chief of the Promotion Department in the “Global Movement to Share” who had been detained on April 5 in Iraq, said, “I saw the Embassy officials working hard both directly and indirectly to check the Koreans’ safety. We should not denounce all of the Embassy officials who have been working hard in a place where everything had deteriorated.”

Still, he pointed out “There are some things to improve in the government’s attitudes after the accident. Nobody from the Embassy or from the government asked me how I became detained and this raised in me a question of ‘how could they make proper measures to prevent similar accidents from happening if they don’t understand the relevant facts of my situations’?”

Yom Chang-geun (28 years old), director of Business Department in the “Iraq Peace Network,” said, “I don’t want to criticize the Embassy employees in the manner of a witch hunt, since I know they are also working hard.” Still, he said, “It is questionable how effectively a government who says ‘we check through email even in such a dangerous situation’ could protect overseas Koreans safely.”



Yang-Hwan Jung Se-Jin Jung ray@donga.com mint4a@donga.com