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Two Guinean ITU delegates turned back upon arrival at Incheon

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  • Published Oct 24, 2014 9:33 am KST
  • Updated Oct 24, 2014 9:33 am KST

South Korea's health ministry said Friday it requested two Guinean delegates for the meeting of the International Telecommunications Union in Busan to return home Thursday upon their arrival at Incheon International Airport, amid the fears surrounding the spread of Ebola.

"At 5:17 p.m., Thursday, two Guinean delegates arrived at Incheon International Airport via an Emirates plane that departed from Dubai, unaware of the fact that they were requested to refrain from participating in the ITU meeting," the Ministry of Health & Welfare said.

Guinea, along with two other disease-stricken African countries, Sierra Leone and Liberia, earlier told Seoul that it would not join the event, in consideration of South Korea's concerns.

"While the two were found to have no health problems, the government told them they were not on the invitation, and asked them to leave by themselves," it added. "The two also agreed after realizing the fact."

The South Korean government has been making efforts to prevent an outbreak of Ebola at the international gathering, asking the three disease-stricken countries to minimize their participation in the event, or instead send officials from nearby diplomatic missions.

The two Guinean delegates initially departed from Conakry, its capital city, the ITU confirmed.

Sarah Parkes, an ITU media relations official, said while the relevant Guinean ministry earlier said it would not attend, the two were from a separate governmental body, adding it could be a "question of miscommunication."

"We understand the public health concern that Korea feels," Parkes said.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever has claimed thousands of lives, mostly in West Africa.

Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the ITU, said earlier that he supports the latest quarantine measures rolled out by South Korea ahead of the ITU gathering as they will benefit all participants.

The 19th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, referred to as PP-14, continues until to Nov. 7. It is joined by some 3,000 delegates from around 170 countries. (Yonhap)