Kurdistan
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani (R) and Lee Jun-il, the Republic of Korea's Ambassador to Iraq, in Erbil on November 16, 2025. Photo: Kurdistan Region Presidency.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Sunday received the incoming South Korean ambassador to Iraq, where the two sides discussed bilateral ties between Erbil, Baghdad, and Seoul, the Kurdistan Region Presidency reported.
President Barzani “conveyed his congratulations to Ambassador Lee Jun-il,” the Presidency said in a statement, adding that the two officials discussed “relations between the Republic of Korea and Iraq, as well as the Kurdistan Region,” and “the contributions and activities of Korean companies operating” in Iraq and the Region.
The Kurdistan Region President “acknowledged the enduring relationship and support” Seoul has provided to both Erbil and Baghdad, “highlighting the significant role” played by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) - an affiliate of South Korea’s foreign ministry that manages the country’s official development assistance - “in various sectors and areas of assistance to the Kurdistan Region.”
The meeting further touched on “the successful Iraqi parliamentary elections” and “the current situation in the Kurdistan Region and the broader region.”
Several South Korean companies operate in the Kurdistan Region, including electronics giant LG, as well as Hyundai and Kia Motors in the automotive industry.
After the 2003 collapse of the Baath regime in Iraq, thousands of Korean soldiers were deployed to the Kurdistan Region as part of the Zaytun Division between 2004 and 2008 to support reconstruction and the Kurdish economy in areas such as education, health, medical treatment, and capacity building.
Although no longer active, the Zaytun Division and KOICA reportedly completed the construction of more than 250 facilities, including 59 schools, 15 public health centers, the Zaytun Hospital, the Zaytun Library, the Kurdistan Institute of Public Administration (KIPA), and an e-procurement system, in addition to providing medical support for refugees and training 1,500 Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials in Korea, along with more than $60 million in in-kind assistance.
Lee Jun-il also met with President Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), on Sunday, extending South Korea’s congratulations on the “great success” his party achieved in the legislative ballot, the Barzani Headquarters said in a statement.
Seoul’s ambassador was further quoted as highlighting his country’s ties with the people of Kurdistan that began during the Zaytun Division’s deployment in Erbil, “expressing hope for further expansion of these relations.”
Last year, South Korea celebrated 20 years of ties with the Kurdistan Region. Marked in September 2024 with a ceremony in Erbil, the occasion saw the Kurdistan Region’s President express his willingness to bolster ties with Seoul.
In 2016, South Korea upgraded its diplomatic mission in the Kurdistan Region from an embassy office to a consulate, and since 2015 has provided funds for displaced persons and refugees.
When the coronavirus hit the Kurdistan Region in 2020, Seoul provided testing kits. The country has also trained 1,500 KRG officials in Korea.
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