Korea’s Yoon pledges to help Ukrainian children on surprise visit to Ukraine

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visits the site of the civilian bombing near Kyiv on July 15 (local). [Photo provided by Presidential Office]

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to actively help Ukrainian children during a surprise visit on Saturday in a strong show of support for the war-torn country, according to Senior Presidential Secretary for Press Affairs Kim Eun-hye on Monday.

The pledge came after hearing from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the devastation suffered by Ukrainian children in the war with Russia, which was far more horrific than imagined, according to the presidential secretary.

According to the Ukrainian government and the United Nations Human Rights Office, Russian forces laid large-scale landmines before withdrawing from the occupied areas of Ukraine. Most of these areas were in civilian neighborhoods, including village playgrounds and kindergarten and elementary school playgrounds where children were supposed to play. As a result, many children were killed or lost limbs after stepping on landmines on their way to and from school.

As of July 7, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded over 25,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine since the start of the war in February last year, with 1,624 of them being children. Among them, 532 children were killed and 1,092 were severely injured, with the number of child casualties continuing to rise.

During their stay in Ukraine, Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee visited Irpin, one of the bloodiest sites of the war, where a local child placed a sticker on Kim’s wrist. The sticker depicted a picture of a dog leading children in a playground. At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary picture, but the dog was a mine detection dog called “Patron.” Patron means an ammunition can in Ukrainian. Without these dogs, Ukrainian children cannot freely roam around their village.

This visit led Yoon to make the commitment to provide mine detection and demining equipment to Ukraine. The South Korean government has already provided mine detectors and protective gear to Ukraine as a follow-up measure to the South Korea-Ukraine summit in May, but the government has decided to further expand its support to include demining equipment.

Yoon and the first lady also visited the Children’s Human Rights Protection Center at the National Children‘s Hospital, where child victims of the war receive treatment. “At the time, Yoon promised immediate support after hearing about the tragedy,” said a senior official at the presidential office. “The president believed that supporting Ukrainian child facilities was not just about child welfare but also about a human rights issue,” the official added. At the Children’s Human Rights Protection Center, more than 380 children who had been abducted by Russia and returned home were receiving psychiatric treatment.

It has been reported that Russian forces not only buried large quantities of landmines but also abducted many children before withdrawing from the occupied areas. Ukrainian authorities have stated that approximately 20,000 Ukrainian children were forcibly relocated to Russia. Among them, over 380 children have returned through a third country. According to the testimonies of the returning children, they were subjected to forced labor, sexual abuse, and other forms of mistreatment while in Russia. There were also forced education programs implemented by Russia to erase Ukrainian identity.

The South Korean government pledged to make every effort to help the children who have not yet returned from Russia to reunite with their families. The government plans to expand support for the Children’s Human Rights Protection Center at the National Children’s Hospital of Ukraine, which provides psychological treatment and counseling to these children. In particular, the government will provide support, including financial resources and program sharing, in the area of child psychological treatment.

“Both Ukrainian and Korean children are precious for me. I hope they will be treated well and grow up to be wonderful and healthy,” Yoon said

Psychological treatment for children affected by the war is an area of special concern to the Ukrainian president because the future of Ukraine depends on them after the war ends. “President Zelensky reiterated his gratitude to President Yoon for his commitment to supporting Ukrainian children,” said an official at the presidential office.