Page 249 - 2020 Defence White Paper

cooperation between the MND and the MOFA taking the lead in protecting overseas
ROK nationals. In April 2018, the unit completed an operation to safely transport
three ROK nationals, who had been rescued from pirates off Ghanaian territorial
waters from Nigeria to Ghana. Since February 2017, the Cheonghae Unit has been
conducting interdiction operations to block pirates entering the Gulf of Aden from
the northern coasts of Somalia by participating in six EU counter-piracy operations 64)
Major activities of the Cheonghae Unit are listed in [Chart 6-11].

[Chart 6-11] Major Activities of Cheonghae Unit
(As of November 2020)
Convoy Safe Voyage Escort Maritime Counter-piracy
Foreign Foreign Security
ROK Vessels ROK Vessels Operations Operations
Vessels Vessels
703 times 21 times / 31
510 1,875 19,570 2,968
(1,731 days) vessels
ROK Nationals Rescue
Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden (Rescued all 21 sailors of Samho Jewelry who were
January 2011
kidnapped by Somali pirates)
Evacuation operation of ROK nationals in Libya (37 ROK nationals evacuated to Malta and
March 2011
Greece from Libya)
Operation to rescue the Hanjin Tenjin sailors Chapter 6
April 2011
(All 14 ROK and 6 Indonesian sailors of Hanjin Tenjin were rescued after pirate attacks)
Operation to rescue the Gemini sailors (Escorted 4 ROK sailors who were released after
December 2012
being captured by pirates)
Evacuation operation of ROK nationals in Libya (Escorted the evacuation of 18 ROK
August 2014
nationals and 86 foreigners to Malta from Libya)
Evacuation operation of ROK nationals in Yemen (Escorted the evacuation of 6 ROK
April 2015
nationals and 6 foreigners to Oman from Yemen)
Operation to escort kidnapped ROK nationals off the coast of Ghana (Escorted 3 ROK
April 2018
nationals kidnapped by pirates to Ghana)
August 2018 Escorted operation to rescue ROK nationals kidnapped by Libyan armed groups
November 2019 Dispatched to offshore near Yemen where 2 ROK nationals were captured by Houthi rebels
Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East including the Strait of Hormuz have
continued to grow since May 2019. To
ensure the safety of ROK nationals
and the freedom of navigation in
such situation, the ROK government
temporarily expanded the operation 64)
Operation Atalanta is a
area of the Cheonghae Unit in January counter-piracy operation
conducted by the EU (CTF-
2020 from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf 465) to protect vessels that
pass through the sea off
of Oman and the Persian Gulf (also the coast of Somalia. The
operation began in 2008,
known as Arabian Gulf), including and the Cheonghae Unit
Humanitarian assistance for an Iranian ship stranded has participated in the EU
the Strait of Hormuz. In February in the temporarily expanded operation area operation since 2017.

Chapter 6. Developing a Robust ROK–US Alliance that is Mutually Complementary and Promoting Defense Exchanges and Cooperation 247