A South Korean military transport aircraft carrying 204 Korean nationals evacuated from Lebanon is set to arrive in Korea on the afternoon of October 15, military authorities announced.
The KC-330 aircraft is transporting a total of 211 passengers, including 204 Korean citizens (one holding dual Korean-Japanese nationality), five foreign family members, and two Japanese nationals.
The passengers boarded from four locations: 142 from Saudi Arabia (139 Koreans, one Australian, one New Zealander, one American), 24 from Bahrain (23 Koreans, one Filipino), 14 from Kuwait (13 Koreans, one Irish), and 28 from Lebanon (all Korean). Three additional passengers, including one dual Korean-Japanese national and two Japanese citizens, boarded through coordination between the Korean and Japanese embassies in Saudi Arabia.
President Lee Jae-myung ordered the operation during a cabinet meeting on October 10, directing officials to "actively review the use of military aircraft" to ensure "every single citizen staying in the region evacuates safely without exception."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense subsequently launched "Operation Desert Shine."
The military transport departed Korea on the morning of October 14 and arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that afternoon local time. It departed Riyadh the same evening and is currently flying through safe airspace, with arrival scheduled at Seoul Airport in Seongnam.
The evacuation operation was unprecedented in scale, simultaneously gathering Korean nationals from four different countries to a single departure point. The effort involved whole-of-government coordination among the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force, Korean embassies in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Lebanon, and the National Police Agency.
During the preparation phase, officials secured overflight permissions from approximately 10 countries along the flight path from Korea to Saudi Arabia within just one day. Foreign affairs and defense officials communicated in real-time across time zones in what resembled an intelligence operation.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Defense Minister Ahn Kyu-baek personally called their Saudi counterparts to request the Saudi government's active cooperation.
The Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff maintained a 24-hour situation room to track the aircraft's route and monitor for potential crises in real-time.
"The government will continue to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East and implement various safety measures to protect Korean citizens in the region and support their return home," a government official said.