A South Korean teenager who recently vanished in Turkey left his hotel in a southern Turkish town all packed, according to the South Korean Embassy here Sunday, an indication that he had intended to embark on a long trip, possibly into Syria.
A local paper first reported Saturday that the teenager might have crossed the border into Syria to join the Islamic State, an extremist Muslim militant group. The report claimed that the young man, identified as an 18-year-old surnamed Kim, had exchanged emails with IS before arriving in Turkey with another South Korean on Jan. 8.
The South Korean Embassy said that the report contains some “inaccurate” information. But it did say that when Kim left his hotel in the town of Kilis, he took all of his belongings with him and left his traveling companion alone.
The traveling mate, who shared the same room with Kim, reportedly told the Turkish police that he tried to find the missing teenager on his own for three days before contacting the authorities.
In Seoul, the teenager’s mother said Saturday her son had exchanged emails with his Turkish friend named Hassan, leading to speculation that the two might have set up a meeting in Kilis, which is situated near the border with Syria.
Police in South Korea have said an analysis of the missing teenager’s phone records showed no evidence that he has had any contact with IS. The mother said South Korea’s intelligence officials studied the teenager’s computer and found no connection with IS.
The teenager’s father, who had been in Turkey since Friday in search of his missing son, is scheduled to fly back to South Korea on Sunday. Speaking to Yonhap News Agency at Gaziantep Airport, the senior Kim repeatedly said, “I have to find my son quickly.”
Meanwhile, the top diplomats Turkey offered to fully support the search efforts for the teenager.
The foreign ministry in Seoul said Yun Byung-se, the South Korean foreign minister, had a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on Sunday. According to the ministry, Cavusoglu expressed concerns about the missing person case in his 10-minute talk with Yun. The Turkish minister also said the government, police and local authorities have been doing their best to locate the young South Korean and that they will continue to do so, according to the ministry.
The ministry added that no particular progress has been made in the search for Kim and that the authorities in Turkey have left open all possibilities. (Yonhap)
