Lee Jae-myung: "Captain Kim Hong-bin, We Will Not Let Go of the Hope for Your Safe Return"

Captain Kim Hong-bin

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, wished for the safe return of Captain Kim Hong-bin, who was stranded in the Himalayas.

On the 20th, Lee posted on Facebook titled "Captain Kim Hong-bin's Safe Return, We Will Not Let Go of the Thread of Hope," praising, "Captain Kim Hong-bin set a great record on the 18th by becoming the first disabled person in the world to summit all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters in the Himalayas."

Lee said, "However, he was stranded on the way down, and although rescue operations were attempted, they failed, and they are now trying again to rescue him using a helicopter," adding, "The Pakistani embassy has also dispatched consular officers and staff to the area to support the rescue."

He especially noted, "Captain Kim Hong-bin lost all ten fingers in an accident during climbing," and added, "However, he did not give up and achieved great accomplishments as a mountaineer. This time, he embarked on the 14th and final ascent of the 8,000-meter peaks in the Himalayas to give hope to our people exhausted by COVID-19."

Lee stated, "After completing all 14 peaks, Captain Kim sent a message via radio saying, 'To the people of the Republic of Korea tired from COVID-19, if disabled person Kim Hong-bin can do it, everyone please stay strong,'" and added, "We will not let go of the thread of hope and sincerely pray for Captain Kim Hong-bin's safe return with all our hearts together with our people."

Captain Kim Hong-bin lost all ten fingers in an accident during a solo climb of Denali (6,194m), the highest peak in North America, in 1991. However, he did not give up and, starting with Gasherbrum II (8,035m) in 2006, he climbed all the 8,000-meter peaks in the Himalayas over 15 years.

On the 18th local time at 4:58 p.m. (8:58 p.m. Korean time), Captain Kim succeeded in summiting Broad Peak, leaving a great record as the first disabled person to complete all 14 Himalayan 8,000-meter peaks.

In response, President Moon Jae-in congratulated him on Twitter and Facebook on the 19th, expressing gratitude by saying, "You have given another source of pride and hope to the people exhausted by COVID-19."

However, Captain Kim was stranded during the descent after reaching the summit. It was confirmed that he sent a rescue request at 9:58 a.m. local time that day after being stranded near an altitude of 7,900 meters.

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