The group of 23 Christian aid workers was seized by Taliban militants on July 19 as their bus traveled from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar on a 10-day relief mission.
Two male hostages were killed late last month after Afghanistan rejected the kidnappers' demand for the release of Taliban prisoners held in that country. Two female captives were subsequently released during face-to-face talks between South Korea and the Taliban.
But the deal, which underlined Seoul's intention of withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan by year's end, opened the government to criticism that South Korea is the only country to make a direct deal with terrorists since 9/11.
Allies expressed worry that Seoul's unprecedented direct negotiations would lead to more kidnappings.
In a rare public rebuke, Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said Canada does “not negotiate with terrorists, for any reason. Such negotiations only lead to further acts of terrorism."
Germany also criticized the move as submitting to "blackmail" and said it will "change nothing" in that country's efforts to secure the release of a German engineer who has been held hostage in Afghanistan since last month. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country would stand firm in its refusal to negotiate with the militia movement.
The allies' concern was validated by Taliban vows to kidnap more foreigners, calling the abduction of the South Koreans a "victory." Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi pledged to "do the same thing with the other allies in Afghanistan because we found this way to be successful."
Seoul is also facing criticism at home for its spy agency's high-profile role. The NIS hailed the resolution of the hostage standoff as a remarkable achievement and distributed photographs to South Korean reporters of Kim with the hostages in Kabul.
"It's very inappropriate for the top official of the intelligence agency to expose his face and show his role in directing the negotiations," the main opposition Grand National Party said in a statement, which also criticized NIS involvement as amateurish. The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said in an editorial that Kim’s high-profile activities have “raised the expectations of terrorists."
The criticism comes with growing allegations that Seoul had paid a hefty ransom for the release of the hostages, despite repeated denials by government officials.
News media say the NIS chief was in Kabul possibly for negotiations over ransom. The NIS, which handles large funds for secret operations, is the sole government agency that could afford the ransom, they said.
Reuters quoted a senior Taliban leader as saying they had received $20 million in ransom.
But accurate figures seem hard to come by. Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that Seoul paid $2 million to Taliban insurgents, citing Afghan officials allegedly involved in the hostage negotiations. The Arab television network Al Jazeera said the South Korean government is believed to have paid as much as $40 million.
