The family of a South Korean Christian missionary who was taken hostage and killed by the Taliban in 2007 filed for 350 million won (US$294,000) in damages from the government, accusing the state of failing to protect its nationals, court officials said Wednesday.
Twenty-three aid workers from Saemmul Presbyterian Church were abducted by Taliban insurgents while in Afghanistan on a missionary tour in July 2007. The victim, whose name was withheld, and a pastor were executed just
days after the abduction while negotiations were under way between the South Korean government and the Taliban for their release.
The family claimed the government neglected to warn travelers to Afghanistan in advance of the potential danger and failed to issue any
restrictions. The fact that the government imposed travel restrictions after the incident is an admission of its neglect, the family said in its
petition.
After holding the hostages for six weeks, the captors freed 21 of them in exchange for Seoul's promise to withdraw its troops stationed in Afghanistan by the year's end and to prohibit its nationals from engaging in missionary activities in the country.