S. Korean Beheaded in Iraq Is Buried

A South Korean man beheaded in Iraq was buried Wednesday, and his family asked 3,000 mourners to support the troubled nation where he was killed.

Kim Sun Il, a 33-year-old interpreter at a company supplying the U.S. military, was killed by Islamic militants and his body found June 22, after South Korea refused to bow to his captors’ demand that it cancel plans to send 3,000 troops to Iraq beginning in August.

Kim’s funeral was held in a gymnasium decorated with white chrysanthemums and strung with a banner reading “I Love Iraq,” written in English, Arabic and Korean.

In a message read by Kim’s brother, Jin Kook, the family offered forgiveness and reconciliation.

“We want to tell you today on Sun Il’s behalf that Sun Il’s very dream was for all of us who were witnesses to Sun Il’s tragedy to love you and your nation of Iraq,” the family said. “We embrace the nation of Iraq. We love the people of Iraq.”

Televised images of Kim in captivity and the news of his beheading stunned South Korea, triggering criticism of the government’s handling of the case and sharpening the national debate over the decision to send troops to assist the U.S.-led coalition. More than 600 South Korean troops are already deployed in Iraq.

During Wednesday’s funeral ceremony, many sobbed when a friend of Kim repeated the desperate appeals Kim had made in the televised videotape: “I don’t want to die. I want to live.”

President Roh Moo Hyun sent an aide to relay condolences. Political leaders from both the ruling and opposition groups attended the ceremony.

Kim was later buried in a Christian cemetery, as friends and relatives released 200 white balloons, according to local news reports.

Candlelight vigils have been held nightly in Seoul. A group of lawmakers is backing a resolution to reconsider the Iraq mission.

Kim’s body was returned to his hometown of Pusan on South Korea’s southeastern coast Saturday, his coffin draped in the national flag.