Korean Volunteers Missing in Ukraine

A total of nine Koreans have so far traveled to Ukraine to volunteer their services as the European country tries to repel invading Russian forces.

Of the nine, three have returned to Korea and the whereabouts of two are unknown, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong told the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on Monday.

Chung said, "We've been making every effort to locate the two who are missing."

Of the remaining four, one is a woman doing volunteer work and the other three are in contact with the government. Those Koreans, who include Rhee Keun, a former Navy special warfare officer and YouTuber, are believed to have been in Ukraine since March 2.

"We presume that many of them went there to join the foreign legion," a ministry official said.

Another 25 Korean nationals are also still in Ukraine, according to Chung.

Twenty-one of them have expressed their wish to stay there under any circumstances, while four are willing to leave, but one of them is in Kherson, a dangerous region occupied by Russia, and the other three, all members of the same family, can't leave immediately as they have local relatives.

Chung said, "We're planning to operate our embassy there until the last Korean national can leave the country safely."