Government Weighs Final Decision to Deploy Charter Flight for Korean Evacuation from Wuhan, China

Evacuation of Nationals from the US, France, Japan, etc.
500-600 Koreans Remain in Wuhan

President Moon Jae-in is delivering New Year's greetings via a phone call to SBS Radio's "Beautiful Morning with Kim Chang-wan" on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, January 24, at his private residence in Yangsan, Gyeongnam.

Governments around the world, including the United States and France, are making all-out efforts to evacuate their nationals staying in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the origin of the 'Wuhan pneumonia,' and South Korea has also entered the final review stage for deploying a chartered flight.

According to government sources on the 27th, the government held a joint meeting of ministries including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to review safety measures for Koreans remaining on site.

At the meeting, the deployment of a chartered flight to transport an estimated 500 to 600 Koreans, including international students, self-employed individuals, and expatriates, was the main topic of discussion.

A government official said, "We recognize the urgency of the situation and are also in consultation with Chinese authorities," adding, "There are many things to prepare as a package, including strengthening the domestic quarantine system in case Koreans staying locally return."

Another government official emphasized the specific timing of the chartered flight deployment, saying, "It seems difficult to dispatch a chartered flight immediately tomorrow," and added, "This is not a typical disaster evacuation; a solid domestic quarantine plan must precede."

Since the 23rd, all flights and trains departing from Wuhan have been suspended, and highways and regular roads leading out of Wuhan have been closed, effectively locking down the city.

Governments worldwide are actively pushing to deploy chartered flights to evacuate their nationals staying in Wuhan.

The United States plans to dispatch a chartered flight on the 28th to evacuate about 1,000 nationals, including consulate staff, and Japan is also planning to send a chartered flight as early as the 28th to bring its nationals home, Kyodo News quoted government officials as saying.

Agnes Buzyn, French Minister of Health, announced on the 26th (local time), "French nationals in Wuhan will be repatriated directly to their home country by air in accordance with an agreement with Chinese authorities," adding, "The repatriation will take place in the middle of this week."

Meanwhile, South Korean health authorities raised the infectious disease crisis alert level from 'caution' to 'alert' on the 27th as Wuhan pneumonia spread.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare held the '1st Central Accident Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting' on the same day and raised the infectious disease crisis alert from 'caution' to 'alert' due to the increased possibility of transmission of the novel coronavirus infection in domestic communities.

Also, starting that day, the 'Central Accident Countermeasures Headquarters for Novel Coronavirus Infection,' headed by Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo, was activated. The headquarters is responsible for supporting quarantine work by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and preventing the spread of infection in local communities.

Park Neung-hoo, head of the Central Accident Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "With the elevation of the crisis alert, it is necessary to implement preemptive and resolute measures," and added, "We will actively devise comprehensive and multidimensional measures at the government level by mobilizing all available resources such as personnel, facilities, and equipment from related ministries and local governments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.