Zaytun Division The Zaytun Division ( ; ) was a contingent of Republic of Korea Army soldiers operating in northern Iraq from September 2004 to December 2008 , carrying out peacekeeping and other reconstruction - related tasks , during the Iraq War . Formation . The Republic of Korea dispatched a small contingent of 600 military medics and engineers ( the 320th Medical Assistance ' Jema ' Unit and the 1100th Construction Engineer ' Seoheui ' Unit ) to predominantly Shia areas in Southern Iraq in April 2003 . The United States government asked South Korea to send additional forces on September 4 , 2003 . Upon request , Seoul formed the Division ' Zaytun ' ( transcription of Arabic word , ' olive ' ) which stressed the peace - keeping role of the troops . An additional 2 , 200 troops ( mostly engineers ) were deployed to Arbil in the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Northern Iraq by early September 2004 and were converged with the humanitarian troops who were relocated from Southern Iraq . The combined unit consisted of 2 , 800 soldiers . Another 800 soldiers were dispatched to reinforce the existing troops in Arbil in November 2004 , thus increasing the size of South Korea ' s contingent to 3 , 600 . 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a video posted on an Arabic - language website , promising that they would " make Korea suffer " if its troops were not withdrawn within two weeks .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 Defense , Donald Rumsfeld , traveled 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 . Other details . The main tasks of the South Korean contingent were to provide medical services and to build and repair roads , power lines , schools and other public infrastructure . The contingent includes a small number of Muslim South Korean soldiers who converted to Islam just before their deployment . The Koreans suffered only one fatality : an officer who committed suicide on the South Korean base in May 2007 . The only other deaths attributed to their presence have been accidents involving both South Korean and Iraqi civilians .