Korea Dispatches Rapid Response Team to Middle East as Stranded Tourists Return Home

Korean police have dispatched a six-member rapid response team to the Middle East to support evacuation efforts as uncertainty grows following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

According to police authorities on the 6th, the National Police Agency sent the team to Oman and Dubai at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The team departed Incheon International Airport at 12:10 a.m. via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with three members heading to each destination.

The rapid response team will work jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to handle administrative duties including processing Korean nationals' departures. The return date has not been determined.

"We received a request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support personnel evacuation operations on the ground," a police official said.

The National Police Agency maintains a 156-member rapid response team with expertise in seven specialized areas including counter-terrorism for emergency situations. Personnel are drawn from this pool when the government decides to dispatch a team.

The police agency had earlier entered emergency standby mode to deploy the team to the Middle East upon request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok had previously instructed relevant ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Police Agency, and National Intelligence Service to "immediately dispatch a rapid response team if the situation worsens and prepare transportation plans in advance to ensure Korean nationals abroad can return home safely."

Meanwhile, Korean citizens who had been stranded in the Middle East for travel are returning home in succession.

A group of Korean tourists stranded in Dubai returned to Incheon International Airport at approximately 3:40 p.m. the previous day via Taipei, Taiwan. Thirty-nine Modetour passengers also arrived in Korea at around 10:40 p.m. the same day on Korean Air flights.

Numerous package tour customers from major travel agencies currently remain in Dubai. As of the 3rd of this month, more than 300 tourists were reportedly still in the region, including approximately 150 from Hana Tour, 190 from Modetour, and 70 from Yellow Balloon. Yellow Balloon customers are scheduled to return on alternative flights between the 8th and 9th.

Travel agencies are struggling to secure return flights. They are pursuing plans to first move Dubai tourists to Taiwan or Southeast Asia before bringing them back to Korea. However, schedules continue to be delayed due to difficulties in securing available flights.