Korea to send fresh relief team, more supplies to Turkey

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Korea to send fresh relief team, more supplies to Turkey

Published: 15 Feb. 2023, 18:22 Updated: 15 Feb. 2023, 19:04

Merchants at Seomun Market in Daegu load donated relief goods including winter apparel, shoes, gloves and utensils worth 50 million won to help people in Turkey and Syria suffering from earthquake damages. The items will be transported to a warehouse designated by the Turkish Embassy in Seoul before being sent overseas. [YONHAP]

The Korean government decided Wednesday to dispatch a fresh team of 21 relief personnel, mainly medical workers, to Turkey on a military aircraft Thursday following the devastating earthquake last week.

They will also deliver 55 tons of relief supplies, including tents, blankets and medicine, worth around 1 billion won ($778,000).

The squad will replace the first round of 118 personnel of the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), who will wrap up their weeklong search and rescue operations in the country Saturday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Minister Park Jin presided over the second public-private emergency earthquake relief meeting to support victims of the earthquake Wednesday afternoon and finalize the logistics of sending the second round of KDRT personnel and additional relief supplies. The meeting was attended by related government agencies, along with aid organizations such as the Korean Red Cross.

The second team will consist of 10 KDRT medical professionals, including those affiliated with the National Medical Center, the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare and Defense Ministry; two Foreign Ministry officials; five staffers of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica); and four members of relief organizations.

This team will focus on supporting displaced people from the earthquake and reconstruction efforts, while the first team, comprised mostly of firefighters and military personnel, focused on rescuing survivors.

Korea will mobilize two military transport aircraft and a commercial plane to dispatch the replacement team and deliver the relief goods over Thursday and Friday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This includes 1,030 tents, 3,260 blankets and 2,200 sleeping bags. The tents and blankets were provided through governmental and private support, and the sleeping bags were donated by the private sector.

"The current relief activities seem to be shifting from rescuing survivors to the relief and reconstruction stages for victims of the disaster," said Park in the meeting.

On Feb. 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, killing more than 40,000 people.

The first round of KDRT personnel, the largest number of relief workers dispatched by Korea in a single day, arrived in Turkey on Feb. 8 on a military transport plane with medical supplies and other relief goods.

The initial team was comprised of Foreign Ministry officials, rescue workers from the National Fire Agency and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica) and military personnel, and has been conducting on-site search activities since Thursday, rescuing eight survivors and recovering 19 bodies.

Korea also promised $5 million in emergency humanitarian assistance last week.

On Monday, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered his aides to mobilize all available resources for additional emergency relief and reconstruction efforts for the earthquake victims.

A Korean Foreign Ministry official said that there are concerns about the deteriorating security situation in the quake-stricken areas, with increased looting due to a lack of daily necessities, along with difficult conditions such as cold weather and electricity and water shortages.

The first team of KDRT personnel has been operating in Antakya, the capital of Hatay Province in southeastern Turkey, one the areas hardest hit by the earthquake, and will move Thursday to Adana, a city in southern Turkey where the situation is more stable, according to Seoul officials.

Around 16 countries also decided to withdraw their relief teams.

The Foreign Ministry said that it will focus on coordinating relief activities with other government agencies to provide support requested by Turkish authorities in a timely manner.

Foreign Minister Park Jin presides over an emergency relief meeting to support victims of the earthquake Wednesday afternoon at the government complex in central Seoul. [YONHAP]

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]