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Kim Sun-il, who was kidnapped by an armed terrorist group in Iraq, was murdered. This is a tragedy. The terrorists didn't hesitate to commit this terrible act of barbarity when their own demands for a withdrawal of Korean troops from Iraq and a cancellation of plans to send more troops to Iraq were not accepted. The Korean government and the international community did all they could to save Kim, but they couldn't stop the terrorists' incredible recklessness.
Kim was a completely innocent youth who ignored the dangers and ran to Iraq to earn tuition money to study Arabic at a translation graduate school. If he made a mistake, it was simply to have the hope of seeing his dream bloom in the Middle East. The goal of Korean troops in Iraq, too, is to keep the peace and help in reconstruction. Despite this, these terrorists cruelly murdered a young Korean who loved the Middle East and made enemies of Korea and all its people.
Now, Kim's extremely sad appeals, screaming "Let me live," have left deep and painful scars for not only his family, but all Koreans. The terrorists should understand clearly that these scars are the fury brought on by this brutal kidnapping and murder. This act of barbarity not only runs counter to the Islamic spirit, but also worsens opinion both inside and outside of Iraq; it only makes the room for these terrorists even narrower.
This incident was shocking and tragic, but it mustn't shake out decision and principle to send troops to Iraq. If by this incident the voices against dispatching troops to Iraq grow louder, it will result in nothing but fulfilling perfectly the intention of the terrorists. In times like this, the president and the government must focus and not allow the deployment issue to once again divide the public.
Preventing a second or third kidnapping is also a matter of urgency. The government must closely examine what went wrong and where the holes were while the incident was occurring and in the government's response, and take firm countermeasures to ensure they do not occur again. Of course, we must also ensure that terrorists have no room to set foot in Korea. We must now understand that we have become a full-fledged target for terrorist attacks, and prepare for them.
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