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Ministry of National Defense officials including procurement chief Choi Dong-jin, Samsung Techwin CEO Lee Jung-gu and industry workers visited the Turkish World Cup team at the Seoul Jangchung-dong Tower Hotel, Monday. They told players they appreciated that Turkey shed blood in the Korean War and therefore is allied by blood, making the two brother countries, and encouraged the players to win their World Cup matches.
Lee Nam-shin and members of the Veterans Association cheered at the Incheon Munhak Stadium on June 9 at the Turkey-Costa Rica game.
The defense officials came to encourage the team because Turkey had a large-scale participation in the Korean War, sending about 15,000 soldiers. Also, it is expected that Turkey will import Korean K-9 self-propelled guns (manufactured by Samsung Techwin) worth US$1 billion over the next 10 years, the country's largest weapons export of a single product.
However, the more important issue is that many Turkish people are displeased with the decision made by the Korean referee in the Brazil-Turkey match last June 3. There are worries that this may give severe damage to the friendly relationship between the two countries.
An insider of the Ministry of Defense says, "After the Turkey?Brazil match, there were threats to blow up the Korean Embassy there. We are afraid anti-Korean emotions among the Turkish people will pull down the 'carefully-laid tower' we have built."
(Yoo Yong-won, kysu@chosun.com )
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