Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon Decides on Early Return of 'Gyeonggi Youth Climate Special Envoy Delegation' Dispatched to Cambodia

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon decided on October 15th to bring forward the early return of all members of the 'Gyeonggi Youth Climate Special Envoy Delegation' dispatched to Cambodia.

To ensure the safe return of the delegation, Governor Kim issued an order to dispatch Park Keun-gyun, Director of International Cooperation, to the local area. Following Governor Kim Dong-yeon's emergency directive, Director Park will depart this evening.

The 'Gyeonggi Youth Climate Special Envoy Delegation' currently stationed in Cambodia consists of a total of 34 members (ages 19-39). They were dispatched to Kampot Province in Cambodia on the 11th and were scheduled to engage in tree-planting, environmental improvement, environmental awareness campaigns, and cultural exchange activities until the 28th.

However, following recent incidents of crimes targeting Korean citizens in Cambodia, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs upgraded the travel advisory for Kampot Province to a special travel advisory (equivalent to travel alert level 2.5, recommending travel to be avoided and departure is recommended in cases of short-term emergency risks). Accordingly, the delegation members have been relocated, with 17 members staying in Kampong Speu and 17 members in Siem Reap.

Both areas are classified as travel advisory level 1, with relatively stable security compared to Kampot Province, convenient access to Phnom Penh Airport for departure, and the volunteer activity target schools are known to be in good condition.

The Province requested cooperation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the delegation members' safety immediately after their local arrival on the 11th and has been continuously monitoring their safety status.

Nevertheless, Governor Kim Dong-yeon's judgment was that safety must take priority over anything else, and that it is better to respond more than necessary to safety issues. He also took into consideration the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' intent in upgrading the travel advisory from level 1 to a special travel advisory.

Accordingly, delegation members are scheduled to begin returning sequentially from the 16th and complete their return by the 20th.

Governor Kim Dong-yeon emphasized that although the overseas volunteer activity period of the delegation is inevitably shortened by approximately 18 days, there should be no disadvantages for the delegation members, and he also instructed the International Cooperation Division to prepare additional programs.

The 'Gyeonggi Youth Climate Special Envoy Delegation' is in its second cohort and has been dispatched to Cambodia (34 members) and Laos (35 members). The first cohort performed volunteer activities with 120 members in Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and the Philippines.