A plane carrying 19 South Koreans held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan for six weeks has arrived in Seoul.
A senior Taliban leader told Reutersthe South Korean government had paid $20 million for the release of the Christian volunteers.
South Korea's presidential Blue House denied paying any ransom but has already come under criticism for negotiating with the kidnappers.
The South Korean government said it only agreed to pull out a small contingent of engineers and medical staff and end South Korean missionary work in the war-torn country in return for the release of the hostages.
Taliban insurgents kidnapped 23 South Koreans in mid-July. They killed two male hostages as initial negotiations stumbled and last month released two women captives.
The hostages, mostly women, had flown from Dubai where they had stopped on their way home from Afghanistan.
They were expected to make a brief statement at the airport and then go to a hospital near Seoul for medical checks and to reunite with their families.
Many South Koreans said they have been eagerly awaiting the hostages' return. Many see them as largely to blame for the ordeal by ignoring numerous government warnings and making an ill-advised mission to an obvious danger spot.
The hostages have spoken of living in constant fear for their lives and were split up into small groups and shuttled around the Afghan countryside to avoid detection