Zaytun Division

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The Zaytun Division is a contingent of South Korean troops currently operating in Northern Iraq, carrying out peace-keeping and reconstruction tasks.

The Republic of Korea dispatched a small contingent of 600 soldiers ('Seohee' and 'Jema' Units) to predominately Shia areas of Southern Iraq in 2003. The United States government asked South Korea to send additional forces on September 4 2003. Upon request, Seoul formed a division of 8,000 soldiers and named it the 'Zaytun' Division, which stresses the peace-keeping role of the troops (as Zaytun means olive in Arabic. Due to domestic opposition, the government reduced the size of the contingent to 2,800 soldiers before the deployment to Iraq. Led by Major General Hwang Eui-don, these troops were dispatched to Arbil, Kurdish Autonomous Region in Northern Iraq on August, 2004.

Islamists have threatened South Korea, demanding the removal of their troops from Iraq. However, 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.

Another 800 soldiers were dispatched to reinforce the existing troops in Arbil at the end of 2004. South Korea now maintains the third largest foreign troops in Iraq, following the US and British.

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