SKorean gave up freedom for others : former hostages

SEOUL: A South Korean woman aid worker held by Afghanistan's Taliban gave up her chance of freedom so that another woman could be released in her place, two freed hostages have said.

Kim Gi-Na and Kim Kyung-Ja made the disclosure in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV from the military hospital where they have been staying since they returned to Seoul on August 17.

Lee Ji-Young, in a remarkable act of self-sacrifice, volunteered to remain in captivity because she has more experience of living in Afghanistan, they said in an interview aired yesterday evening in South Korea.

"We were very worried when we heard that Ji-Young volunteered to be left behind," said Gi-Na.

"But the Taliban allowed Ji-Young to write a letter to her family which consoled her and gave her some hope that she would come home soon."

Lee had been doing volunteer work in Afghanistan since December. She had been acting as a guide to a group of aid workers from a Seoul church who arrived in the country in July.

"Don't worry about me as I am very well, eating well. Please stay healthy and be at ease," Lee's letter read, according to local news reports.

Lee's mother Nam Sang-Soon told reporters tearfully that the letter, delivered by Gi-Na and Kyung-Ja, "makes me feel as if I met her in person. She is worried about me even when she is going through tough times herself."

"She is always considerate of others and kindhearted.

I am very proud that she gave up her place for others. It is an agony for us very day and night to wait for her return."