Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on the 2nd ordered an all-out, whole-of-government response to the Middle East situation, where tensions have heightened due to armed clashes between the United States and Israel and Iran, including directing preparations for a "transport operation" to protect Korean nationals staying in the region.
At the "2nd ministers' meeting on the Middle East situation" held at Government Complex Seoul that day, Kim said in his opening remarks that the situation in the Middle East is changing by the moment, and he set securing public safety amid blocked air routes and minimizing the economic shock as top priorities.
In particular, Kim noted the recent wave of mass flight cancellations in the Middle East and emphasized that "there are very serious concerns about the safety of our nationals staying there." Accordingly, he instructed the relevant ministries to conduct one-on-one safety checks of overseas Koreans and to provide thorough guidance on returning home, while also ordering airtight preparations for a transport operation that could be deployed if the situation deteriorates. He also asked for special attention to safety measures for Korean vessels operating near the area in preparation for the possibility that Iran could blockade the Strait of Hormuz.
In the economic sphere, he emphasized preemptive responses to visible threats such as rising oil prices and increased financial market volatility. Kim directed the Ministry of Economy and Finance to strengthen monitoring of the foreign exchange and financial markets and to devise market-stabilizing measures. In particular, he added that the government should listen in real time to the difficulties of our corporations that could be directly hit by the Middle East crisis, and sufficiently provide advance guidance on concrete support measures and communication channels so corporations do not experience confusion.
Kim said the government must also prepare for the possibility that this crisis could be prolonged. He said, "At this point it is difficult to predict how long the situation will continue," and he called on each ministry to assume every possible scenario and preemptively prepare not only short-term responses but also measures for medium-term delays. To that end, he repeatedly emphasized breaking down silos between ministries and establishing a "One Team" response system that shares relevant information in real time.
Earlier, the government issued a special travel advisory for seven Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and expressed its intention, as a party to the North Korean nuclear issue, to join the international community's efforts to resolve Iran's nuclear issue.