1. The Foreign Ministry hosted an interagency meeting on June 29 to seek ways to better protect overseas Koreans in response to the terrorist attack on an Istanbul airport. Ambassador for Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Han Dong-man presided over the meeting that brought together officials from such relevant government agencies as the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae and the National Counterterrorism Center under the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

2. In his opening remarks, Ambassador Han strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Istanbul that had left many innocent people killed. The Ambassador, bringing renewed attention to the fact that the ROK government has continuously and closely monitored terrorism-related moves in Istanbul, a preferred tourism destination for ROK nationals, and taken various relevant measures, including raising the Travel-alert Level and dispatching government delegations, asked the relevant government agencies to take the opportunity to thoroughly mull over possible additional measures and implement them.

3. Given that Ramadan is under way from June 6 till July 5 and the terrorism situation will likely remain unstable due to the fall of ISIL’s Fallujah, the Foreign Ministry and other relevant government agencies agreed to work more closely together, such as by sharing with one another information and analyses on terrorism; and to continue efforts to better protect overseas Koreans, including providing safety notices to Korean travelers, travel agencies and relevant groups.


* unofficial translation