Ukraine Korean Embassy Moves to Chernivtsi Near Romanian Border

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The South Korean embassy stationed in Ukraine has reportedly moved to Chernivtsi, near the Romanian border, and is preparing to commence operations. As the situation in Ukraine worsened, threatening the safety of embassy staff, they withdrew from the capital Kyiv.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 3rd, Ambassador Kim Hyeong-tae and embassy staff arrived in Chernivtsi on the night of the 2nd local time and have temporarily set up an office to carry out support tasks for Korean residents evacuating to Romania and other countries.

The distance from Kyiv to Chernivtsi is about 600 km, which normally takes around 5 hours, but despite assistance from the Ukrainian police, Ambassador Kim’s group reportedly took about 12 hours due to checkpoints and traffic congestion.

During the journey, Ambassador Kim’s group attached the Taegeukgi (South Korean flag) to the front windshield of their vehicle, which, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, "helped significantly in passing checkpoints and securing safety from other threats." At that time, about 10 local vehicles followed the Korean group and moved together.

Currently, there are 40 Korean residents staying in Ukraine as of this morning (Korean time), which is 2 fewer than the previous night. Among the 40, 14 are either moving toward the border for evacuation or preparing to do so. The remaining 26 have expressed their intention to continue staying locally.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said, "The embassy made efforts to bring as many people as possible while moving from Kyiv," adding, "Although the embassy will continue its operations in the new location, it will keep in contact with those remaining in Kyiv and continue efforts for their evacuation."

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