Twenty-three South Koreans staying in Iran safely evacuated to Turkmenistan on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said, as Seoul steps up efforts to assist Korean nationals amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
According to the ministry, the evacuees departed Tehran on Monday morning aboard two buses chartered by the South Korean Embassy in Iran, heading east toward the Turkmenistan border. After staying overnight at a stopover location, they crossed the Iran–Turkmenistan border Tuesday evening and safely completed immigration procedures.
The ministry described the evacuation as a preemptive safety measure. It followed a widening of hostilities after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which have drawn in other regional actors and heightened tensions across the Middle East.
“This measure was part of a preemptive effort to ensure the safety of Korean nationals residing in the country,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We have prioritized the safety of our citizens and maintained close communication with them while preparing for the evacuation.”
The evacuees included Korean residents, more than 10 embassy staff and their family members, a Foreign Ministry official told reporters in a closed-door briefing held Tuesday afternoon. Some ethnic Koreans holding foreign nationality and several Iranian nationals who are family members of evacuees were also on board.
Among those who left Iran were Lee Do-hee, head coach of Iran’s women’s national volleyball team, and Lee Gi-je, a player for Iranian professional football club Mes Rafsanjan FC.
With internet services disrupted in Iran, the Korean Embassy maintained communication with evacuees and Foreign Ministry headquarters through a separate communications network during the operation. Seoul is also understood to have communicated with US and Iranian authorities to help secure a safe evacuation route.
Upon arrival in Turkmenistan, embassy officials and a government rapid response team dispatched from Seoul supported entry procedures and began providing consular assistance, including accommodation arrangements and guidance on return flights.
“The rapid response team, in coordination with the local embassy, supported entry procedures and is actively providing necessary consular assistance, including accommodation arrangements and return flight guidance,” the ministry said.
The evacuees are currently traveling by bus to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, and are expected to depart individually for South Korea or a third country on Wednesday.
Before the evacuation, around 60 South Koreans had been staying in Iran. The number remaining has now decreased to about 40.
The ministry official said Seoul is not currently considering withdrawing its embassy in Tehran.
“We are not currently considering it,” the official said, adding that the government will continue to monitor whether the situation becomes prolonged and will take full responsibility for assisting Korean nationals who wish to leave.
In a separate development, 66 South Koreans and ethnic Koreans who had been staying in Israel also safely arrived in Egypt late Tuesday under the support of the South Korean Embassy in Israel, the ministry added.
The group included 62 South Korean nationals — among them nine family members of embassy and public institution staff — as well as four ethnic Koreans holding US citizenship.
In addition, 47 short-term visitors, including group tourists and two US nationals, independently traveled to the border and joined the group at the same time. Five individuals who had initially planned to join the evacuation later canceled.
The evacuees departed Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Tuesday afternoon aboard government-arranged chartered buses under the escort of embassy staff. They safely arrived at the Israel–Egypt border crossing Tuesday evening and completed entry procedures.
The South Korean Embassy in Egypt is scheduled to assist with onward travel from the border to Cairo.
Meanwhile, in Bahrain, two South Koreans safely arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday afternoon aboard a bus chartered by the South Korean Embassy in Manama. In Iraq, two others safely crossed into Turkey on Monday afternoon accompanied by a consular official.
The Foreign Ministry said it will continue to closely monitor developments in the region and take necessary steps to support the safe return of South Koreans remaining in the Middle East.
On top of it, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Tuesday held a video conference with heads of overseas missions in 14 Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Israel, Turkmenistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, to review safety measures and contingency evacuation plans.
During the meeting, Seoul's top envoy to Iran, Kim Jun-pyo said all Korean nationals in the country had been contacted to confirm their safety and that those wishing to depart were being assisted in traveling to neighboring countries and returning home via third-country routes.
Prime Minister Kim instructed overseas missions to maintain real-time communication systems with nationals on the ground and to prepare additional contingency measures to ensure safe evacuation should the situation deteriorate further.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
