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[Alyallen]

A bit dated but hey...it's news

Afghan kidnapping: S Korea seeks compensation Associated Press
Sunday, October 14, 2007 (Seoul)

South Korea's government has asked a church to pay some expenses from winning the release of its members, who were seized by the Taliban in Afghanistan after ignoring official warnings not to go, a news report said on Sunday.

The government officially demanded last week that the Presbyterian Saemmul Community Church, which sent the 23 volunteer workers to Afghanistan, repay some 60 million won - which includes airfare, hotel accommodation and the recovery of the bodies of two murdered hostages Yonhap news agency said, citing a church official.

A Foreign Ministry official said the government has made a compensation request to the church but declined to give details. She spoke on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

Yonhap quoted senior church official Kwon Hyuk-soo as saying his church plans to reimburse the government by raising money among its followers.

Calls to Kwon seeking comment went unanswered on Sunday.

The 23 volunteer workers from the church were kidnapped by the Taliban on July 19 while traveling on a bus from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar.

The insurgents killed two male hostages soon after the kidnapping but freed two females in August before releasing the 19 remaining captives later that month under a deal between the Taliban and the South Korean government.

Seoul secured their release by repeating a pledge, which it had first made long before the kidnappings, to withdraw its 200 troops in Afghanistan before year's end.

It also promised not to let South Korean missionaries travel to the country.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry had earlier cautioned citizens to refrain from traveling to Afghanistan, and has since banned all South Koreans from traveling there.

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