3rd Charter Flight to Carry 19 Chinese Including Recovered Patients Confirmed to Depart Tonight

Rapid Response Team and 12 Medical Staff to be Deployed
Over 170 People Including Chinese Family to Return via 3rd Charter Flight
Arrival Time May Be Later Than 1st and 2nd Flights Due to Identity Verification Procedures

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The third charter flight to bring overseas Koreans remaining in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China?the epicenter of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia)?and nearby areas back to Korea will depart from Incheon International Airport on the night of the 11th. This comes ten days after 701 overseas Koreans returned on the first and second charter flights. Chinese immediate family members who were previously unable to board due to Chinese government policies will also enter the country on this charter flight along with overseas Koreans and will be transported to the Joint Military Academy Defense Language Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, designated as a temporary living facility.

On the afternoon of the same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, "The third temporary flight to repatriate overseas Koreans staying in Wuhan is scheduled to depart from Incheon Airport at 8:45 p.m. on the 11th." To assist with the entry procedures and quarantine of passengers, a rapid response team and medical staff of 12, including Lee Sang-jin, Director of the Overseas Koreans Consular Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, medical personnel from the National Medical Center, and quarantine officers from the National Incheon Airport Quarantine Station, will be deployed.

Additionally, 19 Chinese nationals, including those who have recovered from the novel coronavirus, are scheduled to return to Wuhan on this temporary flight. This includes the first confirmed domestic patient from Wuhan who was cured on the 6th. The remaining 18 Chinese nationals are not confirmed cases but are returning due to the suspension of flights caused by the Chinese authorities' lockdown, using the third charter flight.

The passengers boarding the third charter flight are estimated to be about 170 overseas Koreans and Chinese immediate family members who expressed their intention to return through a preliminary demand survey. The Chinese government initially prohibited boarding by Chinese family members during the first and second charter flights but changed its policy on the 5th and subsequently approved additional charter flights over the past weekend.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "The departure of the third charter flight from Wuhan may be somewhat delayed compared to the first and second flights, considering the time required for identity verification of Chinese family members," adding, "The actual number of passengers may also be fluid due to incomplete documents or lack of passports among Chinese family members." He further added, "Chinese nationals wishing to return, including the first domestic patient from Wuhan who has recovered and been released from quarantine, are also expected to return on this charter flight."

Eligible Chinese family members for boarding are limited to immediate relatives such as parents, children, and spouses. The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Wuhan notified overseas Koreans remaining in China that "the Chinese government allows only spouses, parents, and children of our nationals to board the temporary flight; therefore, other relatives such as parents-in-law are restricted from boarding the temporary flight."

As the charter flight approaches, the Consulate General has completed visa issuance procedures and preparation document guidance for Chinese family members. The Ministry of Justice plans to issue entry visas collectively at immigration offices for Chinese family members who do not possess Korean visas. The Consulate General advised, "At Tianhe Airport, departure will be permitted after verifying the relationship between nationals and Chinese family members boarding the third temporary flight. Please be sure to prepare household registration, marriage certificates, birth medical certificates, etc."

Overseas Koreans and Chinese family members are scheduled to depart from Tianhe Airport in the early morning of the 12th and arrive at Gimpo Airport in Korea in the morning (Korean time). They will undergo domestic quarantine procedures and then be transported to the Defense Language Institute, designated as a temporary living facility, where they will stay for 14 days. The Defense Language Institute is responsible for language education for officers and non-commissioned officers scheduled for overseas deployment and Korean language education for foreign military officers dispatched to Korea. It is a four-story building with approximately 350 individual rooms, including 327 single rooms of 21.8㎡ for Korean military personnel and 26 single rooms of 44.9㎡ for foreign military personnel. Assuming one person per room to prepare for potential novel coronavirus symptomatic cases, it can accommodate about 350 people.

The temporary living facility is located about 17 km from the city center, including Icheon City Hall, and about 1 km from the nearest apartment complex. Due to the accommodation of overseas Koreans, foreign and Korean military officers who were previously receiving education at the Defense Language Institute have vacated their lodgings. The Ministry of National Defense plans to relocate about 90 foreign military officers currently receiving Korean language training at the Defense Language Institute to a government facility in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, to continue their education.

Kim Kang-rip, Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, said, "The Joint Military Academy Defense Language Institute was selected after comprehensively considering the appropriateness of the accommodation capacity and accessibility to the airport and medical institutions."

Meanwhile, the government plans to charge Chinese nationals returning to their home country on the third charter flight the costs applied to overseas Koreans who came to Korea on the first and second charter flights afterward. The cost is 300,000 KRW per adult, 225,000 KRW for children aged 2 to 11, and 30,000 KRW for accompanying infants under 2 years old.

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