“The relationship between Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Republic of Korea is very, very special. It all started with the stationing of the Korean Zaytun Division right after the war was over from 2004 to 2008,” Cho Kijoung, the South Korean Consul General to Erbil, told Rudaw’s Jaafar Mubasher.
The Zaytun Division and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) have successfully constructed more than 250 facilities in the Kurdistan Region, including 59 schools, 15 public health centers, the Zaytun hospital, the Zaytun library, the establishment of the Kurdistan Institute of Public Administration (KIPA) and e-procurement system, according to an op-ed by former consul general Choi Kwang-Jin published on Rudaw English in 2020.
“Our relationship is very special, especially at the government level. We will keep maintaining this relationship,” Kijoung added, calling for the expansion of the partnership between Erbil and Seoul in the private sector.
Seoul and Erbil have enjoyed great relations for nearly two decades.
A number of South Korean companies operate in the Kurdistan Region, including electronics giants LG and Hyundai and Kia Motors in the automotive industry.
“Strengthening of trade between the Kurdistan Region and Korea is one of the top priorities of mine,” he Korean diplomat affirmed, stating that he “has an idea” to execute his priority.
In 2016, South Korea upgraded its diplomatic mission in the Kurdistan Region from an embassy office to a consulate, and has since 2015 provided donations to the IDPs and refugees in the Region.
When coronavirus spread in the Kurdistan Region in 2020, Seoul provided testing kits to Erbil. The country has also trained 1,500 Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials in Korea.
