Damages sought for murdered Taliban hostage

By Park Si-soo

Staff reporter

Parents of a Christian missionary, who was abducted and killed in 2007 by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, filed a suit against the government, demanding 350 million won ($294,860) in compensation, a Seoul court said Wednesday.

They claimed the government breached its duty to prevent its citizens from leaving for the war-torn Islamic state. But the legal action is causing a stir on the Internet over whether it’s justifiable.

Noting the fact that the missionary group including the victim Shim Sung-min left for Afghanistan despite a kidnapping alert issued by the foreign ministry, most netizens criticized the suit though some people were sympathetic.

“The government dispatched negotiators three days after the missionary group was kidnapped. However their negotiations were not immediately productive and resulted in the murder of Shim,” the parents said in a statement. “This is an apparent violation of the government’s duty of ensuring the safety of overseas citizens.”

They said the government, which was with ample information about how risky the trip to the Taliban stronghold was, should have informed them of the fact and banned them from leaving the country.

The 23-member missionary group, mostly in their 20s and 30s, landed on Afghanistan soil on July 13, 2007, to offer volunteer medical services. Most of them were members of the Saemmul Community Church in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province.

They were abducted by Taliban insurgents on their seventh day there. Amid sluggish ransom-for-hostages swap deal led by the foreign ministry and a spy agency, two male hostages — Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu and Shim Sung-min — were killed. The other hostages were freed on their 43rd day under watch by an armed Taliban watchdog group.

Following their return, the government said it would have the released missionaries cover the state money used to pay the ransom.

It’s still uncertain whether the government actually sought remuneration.