Diplomat Who Kept Promise to Afghanistan Asks for Help in Settling Collaborators

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 25th that about 380 local staff who have supported our government’s activities in Afghanistan, along with their spouses, minor children, and parents, will arrive in Korea on the 26th. Kim Il-eung, Charg? d'Affaires at the Embassy in Afghanistan, is embracing an Afghan individual. (Photo by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] On the 25th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a photo. The photo showed Kim Il-eung, the Charg? d'Affaires at the Embassy in Afghanistan, embracing an Afghan individual. This photo was taken immediately after a local collaborator escaped from Afghanistan using a bus.

In a video interview with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press corps on the 27th, Kim said, "He is a political affairs staff member who has worked with me every day for a year since last August," adding, "I hugged not only him but many other friends out of joy, but I was especially heartbroken because that friend’s face was injured."

On the 22nd, after the embassy’s withdrawal, Kim led an advance team from Qatar, where the embassy was temporarily located, back to Kabul Airport to carry out evacuation duties. He then returned to Korea on a military transport plane with 377 Afghans who arrived in the first group the day before. The advance team, consisting of Kim, the police security chief dispatched to the embassy, staff from related agencies, and a military attach? stationed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), faced the major challenge of bringing Afghans outside Kabul Airport into the airport.

By the afternoon of the 23rd, only 26 collaborators had arrived, far fewer than the number expected. Ultimately, they decided to use buses proposed by the U.S. There were six buses in total, but even this was difficult. Upon arriving at checkpoints guarded by U.S. troops and the Taliban, the Taliban guarding the main gate did not allow them to enter, causing great anxiety. The Taliban raised issues about the travel certificates issued by the government being copies, but finally allowed entry in the early hours of the 25th.

Regarding the situation at that time, Kim recalled, "People were inside the bus for 14 to 15 hours, but the air conditioning was not working, and the windows were painted over so they couldn’t see outside, which made them very anxious." He added, "It was hot, children were crying, and they stayed up all night until dawn when the bus finally arrived. That was the hardest time."

Kim is familiar with Afghanistan, as this was not his first assignment there. He served as a political affairs officer in the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) operated by the government to assist Afghan residents from 2011 to 2012.

He said, "Some of the evacuees are people I knew back then," and added, "One interpreter friend is from Kunduz Province, but after the Taliban took over, he moved to neighboring Balkh Province. He said he has moved eleven times across two provinces over the past few years."

Having an adult eldest daughter and a child in the second year of middle school, Kim did not contact his family to avoid worrying them. Because of this, his family thought he was still in Qatar until he appeared in the news.

He said, "My family didn’t know. I lost my wife four years ago, so I only have two daughters. They are probably at home on vacation now, but I haven’t told them. I called yesterday, and my daughter asked, ‘Dad, did you go to Kabul?’ I don’t tell them because it would worry them."

Kim also continuously expressed concern for the Afghans evacuated to Korea. He said, "The issue of settlement is the biggest concern, and I ask the public and the media to help," and expressed gratitude to the residents of Jincheon County, Chungbuk, where the temporary accommodation facilities are located.

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