South Asia News
South Korean ex-hostages back home, and apologising (3rd Roundup)
Sep 2, 2007, 13:34 GMT
Seoul - A group of 19 South Korean Christians who spent six weeks held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan were back home early Sunday - and apologising for the anguish they had caused.
Speaking on behalf of the missionary group - which had gone to Afghanistan against Korean government advice - Yu Kyong Sik said: 'We owe the country and people a lot,' and apologised 'for the worry and unrest we have caused.'
They arrived at the airport in Incheon on a flight from Dubai, and were to be examined at a hospital, the Yonhap news agency reported.
As a sign of their regret, the group bowed to waiting media cameras as they entered the airport's arrival hall. The group also bore pictures of the two male hostages who were killed.
The hostages were released in batches on Wednesday and Thursday. They were among a group of 23 Christian aid workers abducted on July 19 while travelling overland.
Two hostages were killed by the Taliban when deadlines for their demands were not met, while two women were freed about two weeks ago.
Meanwhile a member of the Christian church to which the group belongs said Sunday he had been told by some of the ex-hostages that they had been beaten during their captivity.
'Their suffering was worse than feared,' Park Eun Jo was quoted as saying by Yonhap. Two of the men freed had been threatened with death if they did not convert to Islam, he said.
The two had also protected some of the women in their group from threats of sexual molestation, he said.
The South Korean government on Saturday again dismissed speculation that it had paid ransom to Taliban rebels to secure the release of the hostages.
'No such thing was given,' foreign minister Song Min Soon said on his return from a trip to Moscow, according to a report by the Yonhap news agency.
On Friday, a South Korean government spokesman had already denied any 'secret agreement' with the Taliban when asked whether the radical Islamist group had received a ransom in exchange for the kidnapped aid workers.
Japan's Ashai Shimbun newspaper had reported that the kidnappers had received a ransom of 2 million dollars. The newspaper quoted sources in Afghanistan.
A local mediator was convinced that there would have been no other way of ending the hostage drama, while observers in Afghanistan assumed that Seoul had paid a high ransom.
The South Korean government on Thursday said it had agreed to withdraw its 200 soldiers from Afghanistan - which had already been decided before the kidnappings - by year's end.
It said it had also promised to send no more 'Christian missionaries' into the country.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
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It would seem that they are even dumber than the muslims( is that possible???). It amazes me that the/any koreans have no harsh words against the idiot muslim murderers!! they are madder at themselves which I suppose is justified, but aren't they at all mad at the kidnappers, GUT- LESS!
Think about it, they must have had some sort of government permission to be there and give aid!! Instead of retreating, I would flood that muslim stink hole with rabid koreans, but, I guess aren't any.
Why...Whyyyyhhh ...Mr. Anderson? You persist.
I thank God that they were released. I can't begin to imagine what they have been through, especially losing their friends. Of course they aren't 'rabid' ... true Christians aren't.
It really is the ultimate case of the Christians throwing themselves to the lions. The utter naïveté these twits showed is astounding.
Let the 'professional' aid agencies do their work. At least most of them have the good sense to put together some sort of armed security or military escort when they go out on their aid missions.
Anyone that thinks they can walk into an ideological war zone armed with their faith has obviously paid no attention whatsoever to history. These were the jerks that blew up irreplaceable, centuries-old statues of Buddha; I doubt a handful of decades old Christians would fare any better.
I agree with the previous poster who said that the anger should be equally directed at the Taliban. But I guess we were all angry with them already. But I guess that's what happens when you go looking for Bin Laden in Iraq instead...
If Korea had done the right thing when missionaries first came to their country, they wouldn't have been in this predicament today. (Oh, and the right thing is to always kill missionaries.)
They made a mistake by going. But seriously, we all make mistakes.
Their release is nothing short of a miracle. As we have seen in the past, the Taliban usually kill their hostages quickly if they don't get what they want.
yes i cut this from my previous post cause its still relative here.
To be a faithful christian does not mean you are super human or have nerves of steel you are still in the physical HUMAN and subject to all the fears & concerns of the next person, the difference is you are enternally saved through gods gift to man.
It would have been more an advantage to the christian world if these hostages had stood up declared their faith in the Lord and told there government not to intervene, they should have been singing praises to god for the blessing he gave them, to die in his name doing his work, so much greater would be there reward be
There mistake was a lack of faith regardless of the outcome.
Don didn't refer to the Koreans as Christians Kelly. Are the best Christians luke warm in your world?? Anyhow I think that kringe was onto something, the koreans bailed on the notion that they were there as Christians and claimed to be non missionary aid workers as soon as this all happened; sorry Kelly not true Christians if you read and believe the Bible. I totally join you in giving thanks as we all should for every breath. God is in control and created everyone and has the last word.
Easy to say 'stand up for your beliefs, don't cut and run,' when you're sitting in your armchair at home and not being beaten with a garden hose by some bug-eyed fanatic screaming at you in a language that tends to spray it and not say it.
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GarySep 2nd, 2007 - 14:15:01
What a bunch of morons. They are told NOT to go yet somehow in their minds that translates to 'It won't be that bad. LET'S GO TO AFGHANISTAN AND CONVERT SOME MUSLIMS' I'm sure they believed Jesus would help them fly out any trouble with a super-invisible Korean Jesus jetpack. When the pack ceased to work, these dolts found themselves crying in a cave getting laughed at by Afghan warriors who could give 2 sh*ts whether these Korean jerks lived or died. They could of been killed and I would feel indifferent to their plight for their naive ignorance.
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