By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter

Kim Sun-il, the South Korean national killed in Iraq, had been missing since May 31, rather than June 17 as originally stated by the Seoul government, raising the issue of how effectively the kidnapping case was handled.

The president of Gana General Trading Company, where the late Kim worked as an Arabic interpreter, said that Kim, accompanied by an Iraqi bodyguard, went to the U.S. military camp Ribgee near Fallujah, located about 200 kilometers from Baghdad, on May 31. ``Kim was supposed to return to Baghdad on the same day, but failed to do so,’’ the president, Kim Chun-ho, was quoted as saying by the Foreign Ministry.

``After desperately searching for him until June 9, I obtained information that Kim was being held by Iraqi insurgents, and since then I was personally involved in negotiations for Kim’s release with the help of an Iraqi lawyer and U.S. Army and Airforce Exchange Service (AAFES),’’ Kim said.

As for the reason for his failure to report the kidnapping to the Korean embassy in Baghdad, the company head said Kim’s captors suggested a willingness to release him on June 18.

The confession came as the Seoul government faced increasing criticism for its failure to secure a clear picture of the kidnapping incident that ended in the decapitation of the 33-year-old by extremist insurgents in Iraq.

``Kim was probably killed around 8 or 9 a.m. Tuesday Korea time (3-4 a.m. Iraq time), according to U.S. medical officers in Iraq,’’ ministry spokesman Shin Bong-kil told reporters.

Despite its apology to the nation for failing to rescue Kim, the Seoul government is coming under increasing fire for having been ignorant of Kim’s abduction for more than three weeks.

Critics are also asking the question of whether or not the Foreign Ministry used all possible means in order to secure a direct channel of communications with the militants, who identified themselves as members of a jihad group.

Experts doubt whether Seoul’s strategists and negotiators at home and abroad have sufficient expertise to understand Arab-speaking countries and coordinate work with religious and political leaders there.

A high-powered six-member delegation dispatched to Jordan has also been questioned over whether they had clarified the nature of the terrorists’ demands.

The motive for the kidnapping was to have South Korea scrap its additional dispatch plan, rather than the obtaining of a ransom.

The Korean government’s get-tough stance of remaining firm with its plans to dispatch 3,000 soldiers starting in August coupled with excessive media coverage might have angered the armed captors, according to watchers.

yoodh@koreatimes.co.kr