The Blue House says two South Koreans detained in Israel have been released, calling it highly commendable and welcoming the move

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[Financial News] The Blue House said on the 21st that it “highly commends and welcomes” the release of two South Koreans who were detained by Israeli authorities after boarding a relief ship bound for the Gaza Strip.
At a briefing at the Chunchugwan Press Center that day, Kang Yoo-jung, senior presidential spokesperson at The Blue House, said, “The Lee Jae Myung administration strongly regrets Israel’s detention of our citizens through its seizure of the relief ship headed for the Gaza Strip.” She added, “However, we highly commend and welcome the fact that Israel immediately released our citizens.”
Kang said, “At yesterday’s State Council of South Korea meeting, President Lee Jae Myung expressed serious concern over the safety and rights of our detained citizens and once again stressed the importance of international norms, including International Humanitarian Law.” She added, “Accordingly, the government made every effort to provide the necessary consular assistance and diplomatic response.”
She went on to say, “As a result, the Israeli side specifically deported the two South Korean citizens directly, without placing them in a detention facility.” She added, “The Israeli side also said it hopes this issue will not affect South Korea-Israel relations and that the relationship will continue to develop further.”
Kang said, “The Lee Jae Myung administration will respond with principle and responsibility to protect the safety of our citizens, including on international human rights issues.” She added, “To that end, we will continue to maintain close diplomatic communication with the relevant countries.”
She also emphasized, “The safety and sovereignty of our citizens are more important than anything else, and they are the very reason for the existence of the state and the government. That is President Lee’s long-held principle and philosophy.” She added, “The Lee Jae Myung administration will place the lives and safety of the people first and fulfill its responsibility as a government that protects the lives of its citizens.”
Regarding issues involving Israel and the International Criminal Court (ICC), including arrest warrants, Kang said, “This is one of the issues being openly discussed in the international community.” She explained that the president’s remarks at the previous day’s State Council of South Korea meeting were “meant to underscore the need for an objective understanding of the situation.”
Kang also relayed the president’s instructions.
She said, “After receiving a report on an SBS story that the chief of Seoul Seongdong Police Station had misused an emergency response vehicle as an exempt official electric car for the two-shift system, President Lee ordered a swift inspection, strict disciplinary action, and thorough measures to prevent any further cases of lax public service discipline.”
Earlier, SBS reported that the chief of Seoul Seongdong Police Station had used an official electric vehicle exempt from the public institution two-shift system for commuting instead of the assigned command vehicle.
west@fnnews.com Sung Seok-woo Reporter