Korea to open community center for Ethiopian war veterans

Published : Apr 21, 2017 - 09:57 Updated : Apr 21, 2017 - 09:57

South Korea's defense ministry said Friday it has signed an agreement with Ethiopia to construct a community center in Addis Ababa for its nationals who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War.

It's one of Seoul's friendship projects for the people of Ethiopia, the only African country that dispatched ground troops to help South Korea fight against invading North Korea during the conflict.

Hwang Woo-ung (2nd from right), South Korea's deputy defense minister for welfare, poses for a photo with Abate Sitotaw (left), deputy mayor of Addis Ababa; Melese Tessema (2nd from left), president of the Ethiopian Korean War Veterans Association; and Lee Suk-hwan, senior managing director of Lotte Group, after signing an agreement to construct a community center in the Ethiopian capital on April 20, 2017. (Ministry of National Defense)

Ethiopia sent more than 3,500 soldiers and around 650 of them were killed or wounded in action, according to the ministry.

Under the deal, the ministry plans to open the welfare service facilities in downtown Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city, in August next year. It was signed at the City Hall of Addis Abada on Thursday (local time).

The envisioned community center would be the third of its kind for Korean War veterans abroad following those in Thailand and Colombia under the ministry's project launched in 2013 and sponsored by Lotte Group, a South Korean conglomerate. (Yonhap)