Diplomacy Journal Lee Sung Jun | South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened an emergency task force meeting at 10:30 p.m. on 26 August, chaired by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, following the loss of contact with nine South Korean nationals employed by Korea Southern Power and Doosan Enerbility after a sudden flash flood struck the Rasuwa region of Nepal on the morning of 26 August, local time. The workers had been involved in the construction of a hydropower plant in the area. The meeting was attended by officials from the South Korean Embassy in Nepal, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and other relevant agencies.

Minister Cho relayed an urgent directive from the president instructing that the safety and lives of South Korean citizens be treated as the top priority and that all available means be mobilized for the search and rescue effort. He asked that the Foreign Ministry headquarters and the embassy in Nepal maintain close communication with relevant agencies to ensure a swift and safe search and rescue operation.

Cho also announced that a joint government rapid response team, led by Lim Sang-woo, Government Representative for Overseas Citizen Protection and Consular Affairs, and composed of officials from the Foreign Ministry, National Police Agency and National Fire Agency, would be dispatched to Nepal the following day. The team is scheduled to depart Incheon at 1:40 p.m. on 27 August, transit through Hong Kong, and arrive in Kathmandu at 9:45 p.m. the same day. Cho instructed the embassy to look after the safety of South Korean nationals who had evacuated and were awaiting rescue until the response team arrives, and to maintain close cooperation with local authorities in the meantime.

Cho said he plans to speak by phone with Nepal's foreign minister the following day to request necessary cooperation, and instructed officials to maintain close contact with the families of the missing workers, who are likely to face an anxious wait, providing them with detailed updates and any necessary support.

The South Korean Embassy in Nepal noted that reports indicate several hundred people may be missing as a result of the flooding, which could complicate rescue efforts, but said it would maintain constant communication with Nepalese authorities as well as with the ministry and other relevant agencies in Seoul to make every effort toward a swift and safe search and rescue of South Korean nationals.