Korean doctors send advance medical team to Venezuela quake zone

Volunteers look for survivors in a collapsed building in Caraballeda, a town in Venezuela, Thursday (local time), following last week's twin earthquakes. Reuters-Yonhap

The Korean Medical Association (KMA), the nation’s largest organization of doctors, has dispatched an advance volunteer team to Venezuela to assess needs and prepare broader assistance in the wake of devastating earthquakes last week.

The organization’s spokesman told The Korea Times on Friday that KMA Vice President Seo Jung-sung had departed earlier in the day for the quake-struck Caracas region with one staff member as its first team in the South American country.

The KMA has been coordinating with the Venezuelan Medical Association ahead of the visit to ensure the mission responds to actual needs rather than providing only symbolic support.

“As doctors, we believe our mission should not be bounded by national borders, and in that sense we see this as the right thing to do,” the spokesman said. “Before sending the team, we contacted the Venezuelan doctors’ group in advance and asked whether our team would really be of help, and they told us support is needed, so we decided to go.”

As of Friday, the death toll from the two major earthquakes increased to 2,595, according to Venezuelan authorities, as rescue operations continued for more than a week after the region's strongest tremors in over a century.

Seo’s immediate task is to obtain a clearer picture of conditions in the quake-hit areas.

“The first goal is to understand the situation on the ground,” the spokesman said. “We do not yet know what kinds of medical personnel are required, what medicines or supplies are lacking or what kind of facilities can realistically operate.”

If the situation calls for more staff, the mission may grow into a multi-institution effort.

“As in the Haiti earthquake, we can ask university hospitals and other institutions to join and build a bigger team,” he said.

Some funding is already in place to support the mission. On Thursday, the Gwangju Medical Association delivered 20 million won ($13,000) in donations to Seo, and he is also carrying additional money raised through other organizations.

The KMA has a long history of providing emergency medical assistance in the case of major disasters overseas. It dispatched medical teams and delivered relief funds after the 2005 earthquakes in Indonesia and Pakistan, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013 and the 2025 Myanmar earthquake as part of its humanitarian support for countries hit by large-scale disasters.