Lee convenes emergency meeting on Nepal flood response as Korea sends 11-member team

President Lee Jae Myung postponed a meeting with senior secretaries and aides to hold an emergency meeting on Koreans affected by the massive flooding in Nepal, with the government set to send an 11-member response team to the country amid nine Koreans out of contact.

Lee had been scheduled to preside over the meeting at the Blue House on Thursday, but postponed it to hold an emergency meeting to assess the situation, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.

A luncheon with lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party scheduled for Friday was also postponed "considering that all-out efforts are underway to ensure the safety of the citizens."

Efforts are also underway to provide on-site support for Koreans affected by the flooding.

The government will send an 11-member response team to Nepal following massive floods that left scores of people dead or missing, with nine Koreans out of contact.

The team will consist of four officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, five firefighters and two police officers, authorities said Thursday. Lim Sang-woo, the Foreign Ministry's representative for overseas Korean protection and consular affairs, will lead the team.

The team will depart Incheon International Airport on a commercial flight Thursday afternoon and arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal, via Hong Kong. It will assist with search and rescue efforts for Koreans and efforts to confirm their safety.

Massive flooding struck the Himalayan region of north-central Nepal on Wednesday, leaving at least 160 people dead. Another 403 people are reported missing, including 341 foreign nationals.

Nine Koreans remain unreachable, while another 10 Koreans are stranded but have been confirmed to be safe.

The Koreans are reportedly employees of Korea South-East Power (KOEN) and Doosan Enerbility who were staying in Nepal for a local hydropower plant construction project. They had been working at the construction site of the Upper Trishuli-1, or UT-1, hydropower plant.

The two companies are also expected to send their own response personnel to Nepal on Thursday afternoon.

The companies set up emergency response headquarters after learning of the flooding on Wednesday and are briefing the families of employees who remain out of contact about the situation and their response measures.

KOEN has lost contact with three of its seven employees dispatched to Nepal. The three are construction management personnel working at the site.

Doosan Enerbility has lost contact with six of the 16 employees who were at the site when the flooding struck. The company has 21 Korean employees in Nepal. Five Korean employees were initially reported to be out of contact, but the company later confirmed that it had also lost contact with one locally hired Korean employee.

Ten other Korean employees of Doosan Enerbility who were initially reported to be stranded have evacuated along with some 200 other workers, including Nepali employees, and are waiting to be rescued. They have been confirmed to be safe.

The UT-1 construction site is located on the Trishuli River. The 216-megawatt run-of-river hydropower plant is a $647 million project. Once operational, the plant is expected to increase Nepal's total installed power generation capacity by about 10 percent.

KOEN is responsible for investing in and managing the project in Nepal, while Doosan Enerbility is responsible for constructing the plant and manufacturing and supplying major equipment, including turbines and generators.

The UT-1 project is Nepal's largest foreign direct investment project, jointly developed by KOEN and the International Finance Corporation from its early stages.

Main construction began in January 2022, and the plant was scheduled for completion and the start of commercial operations by the end of this year. The completion date, however, is expected to be pushed back considerably after the flooding damaged the construction site.

Update, Aug. 27: Added information about Lee's response.

BY LEE TAE-HEE, HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]