President Lee orders full diplomatic effort to ensure release of Korean activist detained by Israel
Published: 09 Oct. 2025, 13:52
Updated: 09 Oct. 2025, 19:26
![President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a senior aides' meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Oct. 2. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/09/3074820c-5721-409c-a076-f4c30a2781ed.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a senior aides' meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Oct. 2. [YONHAP]
President Lee Jae Myung ordered the government to fully mobilize its diplomatic resources to ensure the safety and prompt release of a Korean national detained by Israeli forces while aboard a flotilla near the Gaza Strip.
Lee was briefed on the situation and the government’s response plans the previous evening, after which he issued the directive, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung on Thursday.
Civic groups, including Urgent Action by South Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with Palestine and others, said that around 11:40 a.m. on Wednesday, a flotilla of 11 boats heading toward the Gaza Strip was seized by the Israeli military. Among those aboard was Kim Ah-hyun, a Korean national and activist.
The organizers described the voyage as a nonviolent campaign “for peace in Gaza and Palestine.”
Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had requested Kim’s immediate release through the Korean Embassy in Israel and pledged to provide all necessary consular support.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a post on X that “the vessels and the passengers are transferred to an Israeli port” and that “all the passengers are safe and in good health.”
“The passengers are expected to be deported promptly,” the ministry added in the same post.
“Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing,” the ministry said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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