Somalia and South Korea

How do Somalia and South Korea relate today?

South Korea has no embassy in Somalia. Its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, is listed by Seoul as the mission for Somalia (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea, Somalia country page). The ambassador in Nairobi is accredited to Somalia at the same time (Embassy of Korea in Kenya).

Korea's naval Cheonghae Unit has worked in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia since March 2009 (Korea Herald, 2020). In January 2026 the two foreign ministers spoke by video. Korea's minister affirmed "full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia" (SONNA, 12 January 2026).

Korean exports to Somalia were worth US$12.7 million in 2025, against US$3.3 million of imports (UN Comtrade, Korea–Somalia 2025). Aid flows mostly through UN agencies such as WFP, UNDP and UNFPA.

When did contact begin?

Seoul and Mogadishu established diplomatic relations on 25 September 1987, under President Siad Barre (MOFA Korea). The Korean diplomat Kang Shin-sung arrived in Mogadishu on Christmas Eve 1987 as the first ambassador (Korea Herald, 12 August 2021). He opened the embassy to win support for South Korea's bid to join the UN (Korea Herald, 2021).

When fighting reached Mogadishu at the end of 1990, the South Korean staff sheltered North Korean diplomats in the ambassador's residence (Korea Herald, 2021). Fourteen North Koreans, including four children, joined seven South Koreans there (Korea Herald, 2021).

On 12 January 1991 they flew out on a Red Cross plane and Italian military aircraft, with help from Italian ambassador Mario Sica (Korea Herald, 2021). They landed in Mombasa, Kenya. The 2021 Korean film "Escape from Mogadishu" is based on Kang's 2006 novel about these events (Korea Herald, 2021).

Who are the ambassadors and envoys?

South Korean ambassadors to Somalia:

• Kang Shin-sung, 1987 to 1991, resident in Mogadishu (Korea Herald, 2021).
• Kim Chan-woo, presented credentials to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Mogadishu, in a report dated 17 July 2014 (Goobjoog, 2014).
• Yeo Sung-jun, presented credentials to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on 22 March 2024 (Goobjoog, 22 March 2024).
• Kang Hyung-shik, ambassador in Nairobi, handed a copy of his credentials for Somalia to Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali in Mogadishu in 2025 (Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2025).

On 22 July 2026 two Somali ministries reported meetings with the Korean ambassador. The Ministry of Internal Security named him as Kang Hyung-shik (Ministry of Internal Security, 22 July 2026). A Dawan report of a meeting the same day with the deputy foreign minister named the ambassador as Park Ji-hyun (Dawan, 22 July 2026).

Somalia's ambassador in Nairobi, Jabriil Ibrahim Cabdulle, has handled contacts with the Korean embassy there (SONNA, 20 February 2025).

Who built the tie?

• Kang Shin-sung, first ambassador, opened the embassy in 1987 and led the joint escape with North Korean diplomats in January 1991 (Korea Herald, 2021).
• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of Somalia, received Korean ambassadors in 2014 and 2024 (Goobjoog, 2014; Goobjoog, 2024).
• Hamza Abdi Barre, Prime Minister of Somalia, led Somalia's delegation to the first Korea–Africa Summit in Seoul in June 2024 (Goobjoog, 4 June 2024).
• Han Duck-soo, Prime Minister of South Korea, met Hamza Abdi Barre in Seoul in June 2024 and pledged support for Somali national projects (Somali Dispatch, 7 June 2024).
• Abdisalam Abdi Ali, Somalia's foreign minister, held talks with Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun in January 2026 and attended the Korea–Africa Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Seoul in June 2026 (SONNA, 2026; Dawan, 1 June 2026).
• Cho Hyun, Korea's foreign minister, gave the January 2026 statement of respect for Somalia's territorial integrity (SONNA, 2026).
• Bihi Iman Egeh, Somalia's finance minister, spoke at the 8th Korea–Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) ministerial conference in Seoul in September 2026 (Dawan, 13 September 2026).
• Wankyu Park, KOICA country director, runs Korea's peacebuilding programme with UNDP that covers Somalia (WardheerNews, 29 September 2025).
• Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail (Fartaag), Somalia's internal security minister, discussed coast guard and police training with the Korean ambassador in July 2026 (Ministry of Internal Security, 2026).

What agreements have they signed?

No bilateral treaty between the two states appears in the Korean ministry's country page (MOFA Korea). Cooperation runs through project agreements with UN agencies:

• October 2024: KOICA, UNFPA and the Federal Government launched a project on maternal health, gender-based violence and youth (UNFPA Somalia, 22 October 2024).
• November 2024: UNDP and KOICA began a US$18 million peacebuilding and violent-extremism programme for Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, running to 2027 (WardheerNews, 2025).
• December 2024: KOICA gave WFP US$22 million over three years for Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia, reaching 150,000 people in Somalia (WFP, 10 December 2024).

Which leaders have visited?

• July 2023: Somalia's foreign ministry permanent secretary visited Korea (MOFA Korea).
• February 2023: President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Korean presidential secretary Chang Seong-min at the African Union summit (MOFA Korea).
• 4 to 5 June 2024: Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre attended the Korea–Africa Summit in Seoul and met Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (Goobjoog, 2024; Somali Dispatch, 2024).
• 31 May to 2 June 2026: Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali attended the Korea–Africa Foreign Ministers' Meeting and met President Lee Jae-myung with other African ministers (Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2026).
• September 2026: Finance Minister Bihi Iman Egeh attended the KOAFEC ministerial conference in Seoul (Dawan, 2026).

How much do they trade?

UN Comtrade records Korean exports to Somalia of:

• US$14.4 million in 2021 (UN Comtrade)
• US$13.4 million in 2022 (UN Comtrade)
• US$14.9 million in 2023, with imports of US$2.2 million (UN Comtrade)
• US$14.6 million in 2024, with imports of US$2.7 million (UN Comtrade)
• US$12.7 million in 2025, with imports of US$3.3 million (UN Comtrade)

In 2024 the largest Korean exports were electrical machinery (US$4.5 million), medicines (US$3.5 million), cosmetics, plastics and machinery (UN Comtrade, by product 2024). Korea's KOTRA put total 2023 trade at US$17.06 million, matching these figures (MOFA Korea).

How much aid and money has gone in?

OECD data show Korean official aid to Somalia at US$1 million or less a year until 2018, then US$1.95 million in 2019, US$2.18 million in 2020 and US$9.78 million in 2024 (OECD, DAC2a).

• WFP: Korea has given WFP US$7.6 million for Somalia since 2022, for nutrition, school meals and climate resilience (WFP, 30 September 2026). The latest grant, US$2 million in September 2026, covers 47,500 children (WFP, 2026).
• Horn of Africa pledge: in May 2023 Korea pledged US$2.3 million and US$18.4 million of rice for drought response across the Horn of Africa (MOFA Korea, 2023).
• Peacebuilding: KOICA has partnered with UNDP since 2006; its regional programme has produced six local action plans on preventing violent extremism (WardheerNews, 2025).
• Health: see the Somaliland section below for a Korean-funded immunisation project.

What about security?

Korea's navy formed the Cheonghae Unit on 3 March 2009 to protect shipping from Somali piracy, as part of Combined Task Force 151 (Korea Herald, 2020). By February 2019 it had assisted 21,895 ships and carried out 21 anti-piracy interdictions (Korea Times, 12 March 2019). On 21 January 2011 its commandos retook the hijacked ship Samho Jewelry and freed all 21 crew; eight pirates were killed and five captured (Korea Times, 21 January 2011). See Foreign forces in Somalia.

How does South Korea deal with Somaliland and the member states?

Korea has no office in Somaliland. In July 2026 Somaliland's health minister, Hussein Bashir Hirsi, opened an immunisation project funded by the Government of Korea, covering eight districts and 53 health facilities (Somaliland Ministry of Health Development, 2026).

The KOICA–UNFPA project of 2024 includes federal member states; South West State's humanitarian minister, Abdinasir Arush, spoke at its launch (UNFPA Somalia, 2024).

After Israel recognised Somaliland on 26 December 2025, Korea told the Security Council it supports Somalia's "sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, including its internationally recognised borders" (Permanent Mission of Korea to the UN, 29 December 2025).

Have there been disputes?

Piracy brought the sharpest incidents:

• 2006: pirates seized the Korean trawler Dongwon-ho 628 in April and freed its 25 crew in late July (Al Jazeera, 30 July 2006).
• 2010: the Korean tanker Samho Dream was held for 217 days and released on 6 November 2010 after a ransom of about US$9 million (Al Jazeera, 7 November 2010).
• 2011: the Busan District Court sentenced Mohammed Araye to life for shooting Samho Jewelry captain Seok Hae-kyun, and four other men to prison terms (Korea Times, 27 May 2011). The Busan High Court upheld the life term in September 2011 and cut one other sentence from 15 to 12 years (VOA, 8 September 2011).

Korea has banned its citizens from travelling to Somalia since 2007, and extended the ban again in January 2022 (Garowe Online, 8 January 2022).

Where does South Korea stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?

Korea sent personnel to the UN operation UNOSOM II in 1993 to 1995 (UN Peacekeeping, UNOSOM II facts).

Korea sat on the Security Council in 2024 and 2025, overlapping with Somalia in 2025 (SONNA, 2025). In December 2025 it welcomed the Council's renewal of the AUSSOM mandate and the sanctions on Al-Shabaab (Korean Mission to the UN, 2025). It urged "good-faith dialogue" among Somali stakeholders on governance and the roles of federal and regional institutions (Korean Mission to the UN, 2025).

Related pages

• Somalia and North Korea
• Foreign forces in Somalia
• Piracy off Somalia
• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
• Hamza Abdi Barre
• Siad Barre era, 1969 to 1991