Page 220 - 2018 Defense White Paper

Such accomplishments helped raise the stature of the ROK Armed Forces in the world. In April

2015, the first “f loating” ROK embassy was opened on the destroyer, Wang Geon, to safely
evacuate the ROK citizens who were caught in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, as well as to maintain
contact with and protect any ROK citizen who remained in Yemen. This is a stellar example of

organic cooperation between the MND and the Ministry of Foreign Af fairs to protect overseas
ROK nationals. In April 2018, the unit completed an operation to safely transport three ROK
nationals, who had been rescued from pirates of Ghanaian territorial waters from the Lagos

Port in Nigeria to the Tema Harbor in Ghana. The major activities of the Cheonghae Unit are
shown in [Chart 5-10].

[ Chart 5-10 ] Cheonghae Unit’s Major Activities
As of November 2018
Convoy Safe Voyage Escort
Maritime Security Counter-piracy
Foreign Foreign
ROK Vessels ROK Vessels Operations Operations
Vessels Vessels
499 1,807 15,828 2,922 612 times (1,827 days) 21 times/31 vessels
Safe Voyage Escort

Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden Rescued all crew, including the captain; shot 8 pirates;
(January 2011) and captured 5 alive
Evacuation operation of ROK nationals
37 ROK nationals evacuated to Malta and Greece from Libya
in Libya (March 2011)
Evacuation operation of ROK nationals
18 ROK nationals and 86 foreigners evacuated to Malta from Libya
in Libya (August 2014)
Evacuation operation of ROK nationals
6 ROK nationals and 6 foreigners evacuated to Oman from Yemen
in Yemen (April 2015)
Escort operation for crew members
Escorted 3 ROK nationals from the Lagos Port in Nigeria
abducted in Ghanaian waters
to the Tema Harbor in Ghana
(April 2018)

| Staff Officers and Coordination Officers in Multinational Forces | The ROK Armed

Forces has dispatched a total of 10 staff off icers and coordination off icers to the CMF in
Bahrain, the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) in Djibouti, and the
United States Central Command and Africa Command. Their major missions are performing

staff duties for the CMF, establishing combined operations plans, supporting the rotation and
combat service of the ROK Armed Forces overseas deployment units, and cooperating with
local allied forces.

218 Chapter 5 Development of the ROK–U.S. Alliance, and Expansion of Defense Exchanges and Cooperation