1. The government of the Republic of Korea, having sent the first and second groups of the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) to the Philippines to support the latter country’s efforts to recover from Typhoon Haiyan from November 15 through December 1, has decided to dispatch its third 21-member group to the country to carry out relief and other recovery operations from November 29 through December 8.

° The third group will be composed of officials from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Medical Center and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare. The group will depart from Incheon International Airport on November 29 and arrive in Tacloban on November 30.

2. Given the growing demand for medical services in Tacloban, the third group of the KDRT, unlike its predecessors, will largely consist of medical staff. The activities by the first and the second groups of the KDRT in the Philippines drew keen attention from the country, as demonstrated by the extension of appreciation by the President of the country and the visit of the Undersecretary of the Department of Health to Saint Paul’s Hospital. Furthermore, the UN and other international organizations commended the ROK groups’ operations.

3. As of November 27, the 87 members of the first and the second groups of the KDRT have provided medical treatment to and performed surgeries on 3,095 people; recovered the bodies of 145 people; and conducted 43 rounds of quarantine operations. After handing over its mission to its successor, the second group will return home on December 1.

4. The ROK government decided on November 12 to offer five million US dollars in humanitarian assistance to the Philippines to help it recover from the typhoon. The former will also provide the latter with 20 million US dollars over next three years (2014-2016) to support the country’s recovery and reconstruction efforts.

                  Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation