ICC Opposes South Korea’s Plan to Restrict Movement of Missionaries

Washington, D.C. (September 1, 2009)-International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the South Korean government is mulling a plan to restrict travel for missionaries to Middle Eastern countries due to security risks.

According to the report by the Korean Herald, the work of South Korean missionaries in the Middle East is exposing the missionaries and other Koreans to “threats of terrorism.” The report indicated that over 80 Korean missionaries have been expelled from Iran , Jordan , Yemen , and other Middle Eastern countries. Recently Jordan informed South Korea about possible terrorist attacks against South Korean missionaries in its country.

South Korea is one of the leading missionary sending countries in the world second only to the United States .

In the past, South Korean missionaries have been martyred at the hand of Islamic extremists. In 2007, Taliban insurgents killed two Korean missionaries after kidnapping 23 of them. A South Korean Christian was among the three Christian girls that were killed in Yemen in June 2009.

The measure by the South Korean government is expected to hamper the missionary work in the Middle East .

ICC’s Jonathan Racho, said, “We oppose the plan by South Korea to restrict missionaries from traveling to Middle Eastern countries. Though the government is entitled to take measures in order to protect citizens, such measures should not infringe on the basic human rights of citizens to freely travel and enjoy freedom of religion. The proposed measures clearly violate those basic rights.”

When ICC contacted the Korean Embassy in Washington D.C. , embassy officials said they had not received any information regarding the proposed plan from their government.

Please contact the Korean Embassy and politely ask Korean officials not to restrict missionaries from traveling abroad to share their faith.

Korean Embassies:

United States : 202-939-5615

UK : 20 72275500

Canada : 613-244-5010

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference ICC (International Christian Concern) and include our web address, www.www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.