'3rd Charter Flight' Carrying Over 140 Korean Residents and Chinese Families Arrives at Gimpo... About 60 Chinese Families (Comprehensive)

Actual Number of Passengers Decreased from Initial Estimate of About 170
Some Unable to Board Due to Incomplete Documents Including Non-Immediate Family Members
Over 780 Overseas Koreans Returned via Three Charter Flights
Koreans and Chinese Families Returning This Time Transferred to Gyeonggi Icheon Defense Language Institute... Quarantined for 14 Days

Overseas Koreans from Wuhan, China are disembarking from a charter flight that landed at Gimpo Airport on the morning of the 31st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The '3rd charter flight' carrying over 140 overseas Koreans and Chinese family members who had been staying in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China?the epicenter of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia)?arrived at Gimpo Airport at around 6:23 a.m. on the 12th.

Among the approximately 140 passengers who arrived at Gimpo Airport on the 3rd charter flight, about 60 were Chinese family members. The charter flight departed Incheon Airport on the evening of the 11th, flew to Tianhe Airport in Wuhan, China, and after passing the Chinese government's strict quarantine, it departed Gimpo Airport at 4:14 a.m. that day carrying overseas Koreans and Chinese family members.

The number of passengers was lower than initially expected. Previously, about 170 overseas Koreans and Chinese family members had expressed their intention to board to the Consulate General in Wuhan. The reason why not all hopeful passengers boarded the charter flight has not yet been identified. It is known that there may have been cases of incomplete documentation, including those who were not immediate family members of overseas Koreans.

The boarding of Chinese family members on the charter flight was due to a change in the Chinese government's policy. While the Chinese government had allowed only Koreans to board the 1st and 2nd charter flights, this time they changed the policy to allow immediate relatives such as parents, children, and spouses to board as well. Accordingly, the government prepared documents such as English and Korean family relationship certificates in bulk to facilitate the departure procedures for Chinese family members. In cases where passports were not available, the Consulate General in Wuhan issued emergency passports.

The 3rd charter flight also included a rapid response team of 12 members, consisting of Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials including Lee Sang-jin, head of the Overseas Koreans Consular Office and leader of the government rapid response team, medical staff from the National Medical Center, and quarantine officers from the National Incheon Airport Quarantine Station, who boarded to assist with immigration procedures.

As of this day, the total number of overseas Koreans who have returned is estimated to be about 780, including 701 who boarded the 1st and 2nd charter flights. The overseas Koreans and Chinese family members who returned this time will undergo domestic quarantine procedures and be transported to the Joint Military University Defense Language Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, 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 about 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 symptomatic cases of the novel coronavirus, it can accommodate about 350 people.

The temporary living facility is located about 17 km from downtown areas such as 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 had been receiving education at the Defense Language Institute had to leave their dormitories. 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.

It is estimated that about 100 overseas Koreans still remain in Wuhan, China. They are reportedly unable to leave the area due to various circumstances. The government is monitoring the spread of the novel coronavirus within China and is expected to consider deploying additional charter flights if there are more people wishing to return. A government official stated, "This is a matter for further discussion," and added, "There are currently no plans for a 4th charter flight."

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