2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan

On July 19, 2007, a group of 23 South Korean missionaries — sixteen women and seven men — was captured by members of the Taliban while traveling by bus from Kandahar to Kabul through Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. The group was on a mission trip sponsored by the Saemmul Presbyterian Church. The crisis began when two local men, whom the bus driver had allowed to board, opened fire to force the vehicle to stop. Over the following weeks, the hostages were held in cellars and farmhouses and were regularly moved in small groups of three to four people.

The Taliban killed two of the hostages during the crisis: Bae Hyeong-gyu, the 42-year-old pastor of Saemmul Church, on July 25, and Shim Seong-min, a 29-year-old man, on July 30. As negotiations progressed, two women, Kim Gyeong-ja and Kim Ji-na, were released on August 13. The remaining 19 hostages — fourteen women and five men — were released on August 29 and 30, with their freedom secured on August 28 with the participation of Indonesia acting as a neutral party in the talks.

Negotiations were shaped by South Korea's prior commitment to withdraw its roughly 200 troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2007; the Taliban's initial demand was that this withdrawal proceed as planned. The group later also sought the release of 23 Taliban prisoners in exchange for the hostages, issuing and extending deadlines and threatening further killings. This demand was ultimately not met, in part because Afghan President Hamid Karzai had previously faced criticism for freeing five prisoners in exchange for an Italian hostage, making further prisoner releases politically untenable. Face-to-face talks between the Taliban and South Korean negotiators began on August 10, leading to the release of the two female hostages on August 13; however, on August 18 a Taliban spokesman said the talks had failed and the fate of the hostages was uncertain before an agreement was ultimately reached.

Following the release of all hostages, a Taliban official stated that South Korea had paid the group more than US$20 million in ransom. South Korea did not confirm this, stating instead that it had promised the Taliban not to make any public statements regarding a ransom.

The crisis drew significant public attention in South Korea, including gatherings to pray for the hostages' safety during the captivity. Muslims residing in South Korea condemned the Taliban's actions as contrary to Islamic principles, while other South Koreans held protests outside the Seoul Central Mosque. Some South Koreans criticized the hostages for undertaking Christian missionary work in Afghanistan despite repeated warnings from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade about Taliban plans to kidnap South Koreans. The bishop of Daejeon, Lazarus You Heung-sik, was among those who criticized the government's negotiated deal, describing it as setting a dangerous precedent. <parameter name="timeline">[ {"date": "2007-07-19", "event": "Twenty-three South Korean missionaries are captured by Taliban militants while traveling by bus from Kandahar to Kabul through Ghazni Province, Afghanistan."}, {"date": "2007-07-25", "event": "Hostage Bae Hyeong-gyu, pastor of Saemmul Church, is killed by the Taliban."}, {"date": "2007-07-30", "event": "Hostage Shim Seong-min is killed by the Taliban."}, {"date": "2007-08-10", "event": "Face-to-face negotiations begin between the Taliban and South Korean representatives."}, {"date": "2007-08-13", "event": "Hostages Kim Gyeong-ja and Kim Ji-na are released."}, {"date": "2007-08-18", "event": "A Taliban spokesman states that talks have failed and the fate of the remaining hostages is being considered."}, {"date": "2007-08-28", "event": "Release of the remaining nineteen hostages is secured with the participation of Indonesia as a neutral party."}, {"date": "2007-08-29", "event": "Release of remaining hostages begins."}, {"date": "2007-08-30", "event": "Remaining hostages are released, concluding the crisis."} ]