SEOUL, November 27 (AJP) - A funeral was held in Kyiv earlier this week for a South Korean man who died fighting in Russia's war in Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here said on Thursday.
Ukrainian authorities informed the South Korean government of his death, and his funeral service was held last Tuesday, with South Korean consular officials in attendance.
Identified by his last name Kim, the man in his 50s is believed to have been killed earlier this year during combat in Donetsk in southeastern Ukraine.
The ministry has been providing consular assistance to Kim's family. Further details about his identity have not been disclosed, but AFP released images showing Ukrainian soldiers honoring him beside a coffin draped with the South Korean flag.
Reports of South Koreans volunteering to fight in Ukraine have surfaced previously, but the actual number of people who went there remains unknown.
Among them was Rhee Keun, a famous YouTuber and former special warfare officer in the South Korean Navy. In March 2022, he flew to Ukraine to help fight against the Russian invasion but returned home just two months later due to injuries and shared some of his battlefield experiences from the front lines.
It is illegal for a South Korean national to take part in a war in another country without government authorization, and offenders face at least one year behind bars. Rhee said at the time, "I could not sit idly by without using my military tactics and expertise to help Ukraine just because I was afraid of punishment. If I return alive, I will take responsibility for my actions."
He was handed down a suspended prison sentence for illegally entering Ukraine to fight as a volunteer soldier, along with multiple other charges.
* This article, published by Economic Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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