Injured Ken Rhee expected back in Korea soon

The International Legion of Defense of Ukraine thanked Ken Rhee for his service and wished him a ″speedy recovery″ on Twitter. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Ken Rhee, a Korean YouTuber and former Korean Navy special forces officer who went to Ukraine in March to fight Russia, is expected to return to Korea soon, the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine (ILDU) said Friday.

The ILDU posted on Twitter a photograph of Rhee with the captions: “Our brother-in-arm and friend, [Captain] Ken Rhee sustained injuries on the battlefield” and “He received medical treatment by the Ukrainian Army’s medical service but he will return home for rehabilitation.”

It added that it wishes Rhee “a speedy recovery and look[s] forward to his return.”

In a recent interview with Ukrainian weekly Novoye Vremya, Rhee said he expects to be arrested at the airport when he returns to Korea.

“It’s illegal under Korean law to be in Ukraine now,” he said. “If I go back, I’ll be arrested at the airport because I participated in the war. I am planning to receive many official documents from the Ukrainian government, and I hope this helps my trial,” Rhee said.

The Korean government implemented a travel ban on citizens traveling to Ukraine from Feb. 13. By law, anyone who disobeys a government travel ban can be sentenced to up to a year in prison or face a fine of up to 10 million won ($8,290).

On Monday, Anton Gerashchenko, an official advisor for the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, said on Twitter that the Ukraine military has “reportedly placed [Rhee] in leadership position” due to his “special operations experience.”

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]