Zaytun Division - Timeline and Background

Timeline and Background

Impassioned opposition to the deployment among both politicians and the public peaked during the captivity of South Korean Kim Sun-il, who was kidnapped on June 17, 2004, and after his execution on June 22, 2004. The incident occurred while the bulk of the Korean contingent was being prepared for its upcoming deployment and triggered a major public debate as to whether they should be sent, involving sometimes violent and vocally anti-American protests.

On October 10, 2004, a little known Islamist group threatened South Korea in a video posted on an Arabic-language website, promising that they would 'make Korea suffer' if its troops were not withdrawn within 2 weeks. The warning outlined how Korean troops would be attacked 'one by one' and also that their families would be targeted in Korea itself. About a week beforehand, Ayman al-Zawahiri mentioned South Korea in a list of countries allied to the US that should be targeted by volunteers. Subsequently, Korean embassies were instructed by then Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to strengthen security.

Former US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, travelled to Arbil to visit the Korean troops on October 10, 2004. On his way home from a visit to Paris, President Roh Moo-hyun made a surprise visit to the Zaytun Division in Arbil on December 8. Throughout 2005, South Korea's was the third largest foreign military deployment in Iraq, behind the United Kingdom.

In early 2006, 1,300 troops were withdrawn following a December 2005 vote by the National Assembly (10-3 with one abstention). Another 1,200 troops were sent home in early 2007, and it was widely assumed that a complete pullout would take place by the beginning of 2008, when the deployment mandate was set to expire. However, on October 23, 2007, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun announced that the mandate would be extended for another year, although the size of the contingent will be halved to 600. The decision to yet again renew the mandate came just several weeks away from December elections in South Korea, during which the extremely unpopular military deployment to Iraq was expected to become a significant issue.

In December 2007, South Korea had 933 personnel deployed; this number had fallen to 520 by October 2008. In a regular briefing on October 29, 2008, Won Tae-jae, a spokesman at the Ministry of Defense said, “The Zaytun army unit, stationed in the city of Arbil in northern Iraq, will begin pulling out of the country in early December, handing the mission over to U.S. troops, and will complete the withdrawal by around December 20, 2008. A farewell ceremony for the remainder of the South Korean contingent was held on December 1, 2008.