S. Korea officially launches peacekeeping unit for Haiti

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea officially launched a contingent of
peacekeeping troops for Haiti Wednesday, with President Lee Myung-bak vowing his
country will take a larger role in aiding crisis-ridden nations.
South Korea will be sending a total of 240 peacekeepers to Haiti by the end of
this month as the sixth United Nations peacekeeping unit working on rebuilding
the quake-ravaged Caribbean state.
"Haiti is among the countries that provided us with goods during the Korean War.
It is time for us to repay its kindness," President Lee Myung-bak said in a
letter of encouragement read out by Defense Minister Kim Tae-young during an
inauguration ceremony of the South Korean peacekeepers Wednesday. "The country
and its military should expand roles in international matters such as disasters,
poverty, underdevelopment and peacekeeping."
The South Korean parliament on Feb. 9 approved a 28.7 billion won (US$25 million)
plan to deploy peacekeeping troops to Leogane, about 40 kilometers west of the
capital Port-au-Prince and among the regions hit hardest by the massive
7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12. The earthquake reportedly
leveled a third of its buildings and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Wednesday's inauguration and send-off ceremony for the South Korean peacekeepers
was held in Incheon, a port city just outside of Seoul, attended by more than
1,400 people including the defense and foreign affairs-related ministers,
military chiefs and family members.
Following an advance unit of 30 troops which left the country last week, the main
contingent of South Korean peacekeepers, including some 100 military engineers
and 20 medics, is scheduled to depart for Haiti on Feb. 27. The troops will
remain stationed there until Dec. 31 this year.
It will be South Korea's sixth U.N. peacekeeping mission after Somalia, Western
Sahara, Angola, East Timor and Lebanon.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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