1. The second batch of the Korea Disaster Response Team (KDRT) -- a total of nine civilian and military doctors and nurses dispatched to Sierra Leone to fight the Ebola epidemic -- returned home on February 23 upon successful completion of its four-week medical mission in the country.

◦ The medical workers are all in good shape without fever or any other Ebola symptoms. They will be put under three-week quarantine at a local facility for monitoring before returning to their normal lives.

2. The medical personnel worked alongside their counterparts from many other countries at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Goderich near Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown.

3. In response to the Ebola crisis, one of the gravest humanitarian crises facing the international community, the Korean medical workers, by drawing upon their excellent capability and sincere attitude, offered medical services in Sierra Leone, thereby contributing substantively to reducing the number of Ebola patients in the country. The international community is noting with appreciation the dispatch of the medical team by the Republic of Korea.

◦ In particular, the ROK, as an emerging donor country, is expanding meaningful contributions to not only development cooperation projects for developing countries but also in the field humanitarian assistance. In that light, the country is seeing its international standing enhanced as a responsible middle power country.

4. Going forward, the ROK government will continue taking an active part in international efforts to fight the Ebola epidemic, including discussions on international collaboration on post-Ebola measures. 


                                      Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
                                      Ministry of National Defense 
                                      Ministry of Health and Welfare

* unofficial translation