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South Korean trade official kidnapped in Libya

by Reuters
Monday, 20 January 2014 01:13 GMT

(Recasts with confirmation and details)

SEOUL, Jan 20 (Reuters) - A South Korean trade official has been kidnapped in Libya, the foreign ministry in Seoul said on Monday.

A foreign ministry official confirmed the identity of the kidnapped man as Han Seok-woo, the head of trade relations at the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency in Libya.

Yonhap News Agency said four men abducted Han when he was leaving for work at 1 a.m Seoul time on Monday (1800 GMT Sunday). It said there had been no word yet from the kidnappers.

His whereabouts and the reason for the abduction were unknown.

Han took the post in July 2012 and was operating the office by himself with a number of interns, according to Yonhap.

South Korea's trade volume with Libya topped $949 million as of last August, KOTRA's Tripoli branch website said, with automobiles making up half of its exports to Libya. (Reporting by David Chance and Ju-min Park; Editing by Paul Tait)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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