GOVT SETS UP TASK FORCE TO RETURN KOREANS

[Anchor Lead]

80 Korean nationals and their families have returned to Korea from Iran on a government-chartered flight. Meanwhile, as more countries close their borders, the Korean Foreign Ministry has formed a task force to assist with the return of Koreans stranded overseas.

[Pkg]

Seventy-four Korean nationals and their six Iranian family members have arrived at Incheon International Airport from Iran yesterday. The Korean government had sent a chartered flight to arrange the Korean expats' return as air travel was blocked in Iran in response to the viral outbreak.

[Soundbite] KIM TAE-HYEON(KOREAN EXPAT IN IRAN) : "We returned safely with our faith placed in the government. The situation in Iran is serious."

Due to U.S. sanctions on Iran, Korean-flagged aircraft cannot directly enter the country. Therefore, the Korean evacuees had to fly out to a third-party country first. They used an Iranian carrier from Tehran to Dubai and then boarded an Asiana flight to Incheon.

[Soundbite] JEONG YEONG-SU(MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS) : "The cabin was divided into three sections to allow enough space between the seats."

The evacuees were transported to KOICA International Cooperation Center in Seongnam near Seoul to be tested. Those who are tested negative will be asked to remain in self-quarantine for two weeks. This is only the third time that the Korean government chartered an aircraft to bring home its citizens. The previous two times were for those in Wuhan, China and for those who were on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. But this was the first evacuation of Koreans from an entire country. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formed a task force to assist Koreans stranded overseas as more countries around the world close their borders. However, there are no further plans to send any additional chartered flights. Korea is working on a plan to have about 170 Korean tourists stranded in Peru board a Mexican airliner while some 500 Koreans in Italy have taken the initiative to negotiate with Korean Air to arrange temporary flights.