Thailand Confirms 36 South Koreans Dead


By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter




A natural color satellite image taken on Jan. 1, 2004, left, shows the tidy coastline of the southwestern city of Kalutara, Sri Lanka. The right photo was taken Dec. 26, 2004 at 10:20 a.m. local time, slightly less than four hours after the earthquake and shortly after the tsunami’s impact. AP-Yonhap


Thai authorities have reportedly said a total of 473 foreigners, including 36 South Koreans, have been confirmed dead following Sunday’s devastating tsunamis. The Korean government, however, has maintained a cautious attitude to the media report.

South Korea’s official death toll tallied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade rose to six as the bodies of two additional tourists had been found on Thailand’s Phi Phi islets, near the resort island of Phuket in the Southeast Asian nation.

The ministry said the bodies belonged to a four-year-old boy, Kim Min-hyuk, and a 72-year-old female, Kim Sang-hyun, who had been listed as ``missing.’’ But 612 others, whose relatives have asked government authorities for their whereabouts, still remained ``out of contact.’’

However, Reuters news agency has reported that the disaster left 474 foreigners dead there, of which 36 were South Korean, citing the Thai government. Seoul officials said they are trying to verify the news report, but were skeptical of its authenticity.

``There is also some evidence coming out that (the figure from the report) lacks reliability,’’ Lee Joon-kyu, chief of the ministry’s Consular Affairs Bureau, said at a briefing. ``But we will leave every possibility open and try to confirm this report.’’

Nonetheless, the widespread view is that the death toll will rise further as most of the missing are now thought to be dead.

As part of efforts to search for those missing, Cho Jung-pyo, a home-based ambassador in charge of overseas Koreans’ affairs, flew to Phuket to join five working-level diplomats sent earlier to help in emergency operations.

The country has established a temporary anti-disaster office on Phuket, where most holidaying South Koreans are believed to have been. In addition, a 15-member team of rescue workers also left for the site to help in the Southeast Asian country’s rescue operations.

While announcing Cho’s departure, Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon expressed sympathy for the victims and their families, pledging the utmost efforts in dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy.

``We are considering sending a military plane to the area,’’ Ban told reporters in the year-end briefing in the morning. A ministry source explained the government is trying its best to bring the bodies from Thailand as early as possible. Commercial airlines have cancelled all scheduled flights to Phuket.

The government also opened a situation room at the ministry’s headquarters to assess damage to Korean interests and develop countermeasures. An inter-ministerial team has been in operation to deal with the matter since Monday.

A number of non-financial, governmental and nongovernmental organizations have been dispatching relief teams and essential supplies, such as food, shelter and medicine, to the tsunami-affected nations. Joining international relief efforts, Seoul pledged $2 million (2 billion won) for the six nations of India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Maldives.

The death toll for Koreans will likely rise further since the ministry is still trying to verify reports from family members that had lost contact with loved ones traveling in the affected areas and nearby countries.

Officials admitted, however, that the figure might be somewhat inflated, being based only on reports from family members back home.

Some relatives of those confirmed missing have gone to Thailand to search for their loved ones or to confirm their fate. One group was to attend a search operation in the southern resort town of Khao Lak as excavators dig into the rubble and earth. Another group was attempting to go to Phi Phi Island, where their relatives went missing, but it was unclear whether the Thai government would allow them onto the island, which has been off-limits since the disaster.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr