Pusan (AsiaNews/AP) – About 2,000 people, dressed in black, took part in the funeral of Kim Sun-il, the South Korean hostage decapitated last June 22 in Iraq. The ceremony took place in a gym decorated with white chrysanthemums and a banner saying "I love Iraq" in Korean, Arab, and English, in Pusan, the victim's home town on the southern coast of the country.

Kim had learnt and spoke Arabic and English fluently in order to be a missionary in the Middle East. This July he was supposed to be ordained as a Baptist minister.

The Islamist militants who had kidnapped him executed him a few days after South Korea's decision to send an additional 3,000 troops to reinforce the 600 already present in Iraq as part of the reconstruction effort. The abductors had demanded that these troops be withdrawn as a condition for his release.

The television images of a captive Kim and the news of his decapitation have shaken South Korea provoking a backlash against the government and its handling of the crisis and dividing public opinion over the opportunity of the country's intervention in Iraq.

Kim's body was brought back to Pusan last Saturday in a coffin draped in the South Korean flag and escorted by a guard of honour. Night vigils have been held in Seoul in memory of the young interpreter and to pressure the government to change its positions. Some parliamentarians have also demanded that the government reconsider South Korea's mission in Iraq.

President Roh has requested a formal investigation into the circumstances of Kim Sun-il's murder.