Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Dec. 18, 2012 14:30 KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have three announcements to make.

First, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan will meet with Guatemalan Foreign Minister Harold Caballeros at 4:00 p.m. today.

At the meeting, Minister Kim will request the cooperation of the Guatemalan government to better ensure the safety of Republic of Korea nationals in Guatemala.

There are some 13,000 ROK nationals residing in Guatemala, and as you may know, there have lately been some unfortunate incidents of abductions and killings of ROK nationals in the country.

Against this backdrop, Minister Kim will take the opportunity to raise this issue during the meeting and ask for Guatemala’s cooperation to this regard. In addition, the two sides will also discuss ways for the two countries to bolster security cooperation.

For your information, Guatemala is serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2012-2013 term, which means that the ROK and Guatemala will work side by side on the Security Council in the year 2013. In this light, the two Ministers will also discuss cooperation measures on the Security Council

By the way, Minister Caballeros’ visit to the ROK is from December 15 through 19. And, this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Moving on to the second announcement, the Foreign Ministry held an essay contest on the image of the ROK from September 3 through October 19, which drew 151 participants from home and 455 from 59 foreign countries.

The Foreign Ministry has selected 30 winners -- 15 Korean and 15 foreigners -- through a screening process.

The award ceremony will be held at the Foreign Ministry’s Reception Hall this Thursday, December 20.

Let me briefly discuss the result from this essay contest.

Nearly half, 49.2% to be exact, of the participants singled out the ROK’s entertainment sector, including K-pop and soap operas, as a contributor to the positive image of the ROK, with another 36.3% pinpointing the ROK’s economic power as the most important contributor.

Meanwhile, 10.8% of the participants pointed out North Korea as the ROK’s negative aspect, followed by its language barrier (10.6%), plastic surgery (8.4%), a high suicide rate (7.7%) and an excessive zeal for education (7.0%).

The Foreign Ministry, drawing upon the results from the essay contest, will hold a meeting with relevant experts this month to consult on possible ways to enhance the ROK’s national image.

Lastly, the 2012 meeting of consuls stationed in North America and in charge of incidents and accidents will take place in LA, US, on December 20.

The meeting will bring together such consuls stationed in 14 diplomatic missions in North America, including the US and Canada.

In the meeting, the consuls will discuss ways to better ensure the safety of ROK nationals staying or traveling overseas.

Furthermore, they will share their relevant experience, knowhow and difficulties.

The Foreign Ministry understands that its top priority task is the protection of Korean nationals overseas. The Foreign Ministry held such meetings in Latin America, Europe and Southeast Asia in February, July and September, respectively, this year.

This is all for my opening statement.

[Q&A]

Q: I would like your comments on the outcome of the latest general election in Japan as well as the position of the ROK government on Japan’s shift to the right.

A: Japan is an important country that plays a significant role in Northeast Asia and the rest of the international community. I understand that the people of Japan take pride in their country’s considerable contribution to the international community after the end of World War II.

Furthermore, Japan is one of our important neighbors and vice versa. Japan is in a position to contribute much to the region and the rest of the international community in cooperation with us.

For a country to play such a role, it is important for it to win the trust of other countries and their peoples before anything else. I expect Japan’s incoming government to bear this in mind and make further contributions while winning the trust of its neighboring countries and the rest of the international community.

Q: ROK workers have been abducted in Nigeria. Please tell us whether there has been contact with the kidnappers or any other progress in this regard.

A: There is an eight-hour time difference between the ROK and Nigeria. When it was morning in the ROK, it was nighttime in Nigeria. As I understand it, neither have we been able to contact the kidnappers yet, nor have they attempted to contact us.

Currently, emergency response teams have been formed at both the ROK Embassy to Nigeria and the Foreign Ministry headquarters. I understand that the company of the workers has also set up a similar team of its own in Nigeria.

The Embassy and the Foreign Ministry headquarters have been in close contact with the involved company and will remain so, making their utmost efforts to bring the abductees back home safe and sound at the earliest possible time.

As part of such efforts, the Foreign Ministry will hold a meeting of relevant government agencies and the company at 3:00 p.m. today to jointly devise ways to bring the abductees back home as soon as possible.

Q: I have a further question. Do you have any idea as to why the workers have been kidnapped and whether this case may have been politically motivated?

A: With contact with the kidnappers having yet to be made, the motive behind the abduction remains unknown at this time. Nor can I tell you for sure at this point that this abduction case is politically motivated.

What I can say, though, is that in light of the previous kidnapping cases that occurred in Nigeria, it is not highly likely that the latest one is politically motivated. Yet, there is nothing I can tell you for sure at this point.

Q: Two Nigerians were reportedly kidnapped along with the Koreans, and one of the two was released afterwards. Have you found out the reason for this?

A: We are not sure about that, either, at this point. He was released while being transported just after having been kidnapped. We don’t know for sure why the kidnappers released one of the locals after kidnapping two.

Q: A foreign media outlet misreported that four Koreans and two Nigerians had been kidnapped. Please clarify whether there was one Nigerian among five abductees, two among six, or one among six. The Korean abductees are employees of Hyundai Heavy Industries. Please tell us what type of and exactly where they were carrying out construction work on Brass Island as well as whether there were no safety measures at the site.

A: I understand that there were six Korean workers at the construction site on Brass Island. Out of the six Koreans, four Koreans along with two locals, six in total, were kidnapped, shortly after which one local was released and swam back to the island. In terms of the situation at the construction site and what kind of work they were doing, the meeting to be held at 3:00 p.m. is expected to help us get to the bottom of the case.

Q: I have a question regarding Japan. Our Foreign Ministry had a telephone conversation with the outgoing Japanese government, in which they agreed to work together on North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket and its nuclear weapons program. Though who will be in charge of foreign affairs in the new government led by the Liberal Democratic Party has not been decided yet, does the Foreign Ministry have a plan on how to contact or have a telephone conversation with the incoming Japanese government?

A: The Liberal Democratic Party has become the ruling party in Japan’s House of Representatives. Are you asking how the Foreign Ministry will consult on North Korea with the LDP-led incoming Japanese government?

Our government’s position has been consistent and clear. There are issues where we cannot make concessions on, and history is one of them. We will firmly maintain our principle on this. But, cooperation is possible in many other areas, including security in Northeast Asia, peace on the Korean Peninsula, economic cooperation and culture. In these areas, Japan is our important partner and as we have done till now, we will continue to closely cooperate with Japan.

I do not think the inauguration of the new government in Japan runs counter to bilateral cooperation in those areas.

Q: Is the Foreign Ministry considering raising the Travel-alert Level for Nigeria? Also, I’d like to know what measures the Foreign Ministry are taking to protect Korean nationals in Nigeria.

A: Raising the Travel-alert Level for Nigeria has not been considered yet. Regarding the safety of Korean nationals, the ROK Embassy in Nigeria will concentrate on efforts to further strengthen safety measures and advise each Korean national to pay heed to their safety.

Q: The abductees were working on an island, and suddenly armed men came to the island by boat and kidnapped the workers. To help viewers and listeners better understand the situation, I’d like to ask if the security situation is that bad in the country. We usually think that kidnapping takes place in the waters, but this incident happened on land. Shouldn’t there be fundamental safety measures to protect Korean nationals in the country?

A: As far as I know, armed men boarding a speed boat shot into the air and kidnapped the workers.

Concerning the security situation in the area, as I have said, an emergency meeting will be held at 3 o’clock. The meeting will discuss the security situation in Nigeria and measures to prevent the recurrence of a similar incident.

Q: Will there be a briefing after the meeting at 3 o’clock? It seems that Koreans are very anxious about this. What do you plan to do after the emergency meeting?

A: I will give you more details, if available, after the meeting ends. I will let you know after I consult with the team.

Let me tell you one more thing before I conclude this briefing.

Bangbae Middle School students are currently sitting at the back here. They came here to learn about the Foreign Ministry for one day.

We gave them this opportunity to let the students, who must be tired studying every day, take time to look at a world different from their classrooms and think about their future.

The students came here this morning and were sent to various divisions in the Foreign Ministry. They learned how our officials work and they also chatted with the officials, who are big seniors to them. After this briefing, I will also take time to talk with them.

The Foreign Ministry created this program as part of efforts to get closer to the Korean people. The Ministry will continue this program. Structurally, there are few opportunities for the Foreign Ministry to meet Korean people in person. So, such programs by the Foreign Ministry are all the more necessary.

Let me tell you once again that I, as the Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, truly welcome Bangbae Middle School students who joined this program today.

I will conclude today’s briefing. Thank you.

* unofficial translation