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| ▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd from L) speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in Sejong, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
(2nd LD) Yoon-Turkey quake
(2nd LD) Yoon orders dispatch of rescue workers, medical supplies to quake-hit Turkey
(ATTN: UPDATES with Yoon's remarks during Cabinet meeting; CHANGES photo)
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the government Tuesday to quickly send rescue workers and medical supplies to help Turkey in the aftermath of this week's devastating earthquake, saying it is only natural to help a "brother nation."
Yoon gave the instruction a day after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and Syria, killing more than 4,000 people, with the death toll feared to keep climbing.
"I express my deep condolences to the people who lost their lives in this earthquake," Yoon said during a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in the central city of Sejong.
"Turkey is a brother nation that sent a large number of troops without hesitation when we were under a Communist invasion in 1950 and defended our freedom," he said, referring to Turkey fighting alongside South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Yoon said he instructed his chief of staff Kim Dae-ki and National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han to prepare emergency assistance measures for Turkey ahead of the Cabinet meeting.
"It's the only obvious thing to do to help our brother nation Turkey in its suffering and difficulties. And in such events with enormous loss of life, we must regard them as an international disaster beyond the disaster of one nation, with the international community fulfilling its role and responsibility," he said.
The presidential office relayed Yoon's instruction hours earlier, saying he had ordered the dispatch of rescue personnel to Turkey using military aircraft and swift action to send emergency medicine and medical supplies.
In line with the instruction, around 60 members of an international rescue team considered among the best in the world will be sent to Turkey, senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye said.
"President Yoon also ordered relevant ministries to work together around the foreign ministry to actively come up with assistance measures in the event Turkey requires additional assistance," the presidential office said, adding Yoon instructed the government to cooperate closely with the Turkish authorities through the foreign ministry and South Korea's diplomatic missions in the country.
The previous day, Yoon instructed the presidential National Security Office and the foreign ministry to come up with active measures to provide humanitarian assistance to Iran and Turkey. Iran was also hit by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake late last month, which killed at least three people and injured more than 800.
"My heart goes out to the people of Turkiye and Syria during this difficult time," Yoon wrote in an early morning tweet Tuesday. "Korea sends our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. We stand ready to assist Turkiye, a brotherhood forged in blood during the Korean War, in any way possible."
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