The South Korean government Wednesday said that two Korean nationals working in Haiti and abducted on July 31, this year, by heavily armed men have been released.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the men had been kidnapped near the La Paix Hospital while driving to work.
‘One of them was released August 18, followed by the release of the other on Tuesday. Their health conditions are good,’ the ministry said in its statement.
The South Korean government had established a task force and worked closely with Haitian authorities to secure their safe release, after eceiving a report of the kidnapping to the Korean Embassy in the Dominican Republic, which is also accredited to Haiti.
The statement said that the incident occurred amid deteriorating security conditions in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, where gangs wield significant influence over parts of the country.
Korea has imposed a travel-ban on Haiti since May 2024, and Koreans require special permission to use their passports to stay in the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the two Koreans had been staying there after obtaining such permission for business activities.
Last year, a Korean businessman was kidnapped and released three days later and in 2021, a missionary couple was abducted along with three other foreign nationals and released 17 days later.