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Last year, a South Korean volunteer soldier who headed to war-torn Ukraine returned home after four months. I heard about why they went to war in violation of current laws and what the horrors of war were like.

Jaeyeon Park is a reporter.

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Gunfire is heard incessantly in the
woods, and the tram carrying the crew roars and moves forward through the mud.

The injured comrade is moved to safety by the soldiers using a battery.

This is a picture of the Ukrainian front as conveyed by 33-year-old Kim Jae-kyung.

Kim, a former Special Warfare officer, left South Korea in October last year to serve as an international volunteer member of the Ukrainian Homeland Defense Force.

In the International Brigade Special Mission Unit, deployed on the Eastern Front, it carried out reconnaissance and combat missions against the Russian Army.

Kim, who returned home after four months, said his entry into the war was not a sudden decision.

[Kim Jae-kyung/Volunteer Soldier of the Ukrainian War: I'm here to protect freedom, democracy and the laughter of the children. If I turn a blind eye to this war, will I be able to live the rest of my life to the fullest.]

He said the horrors of war he encountered on the ground were more terrible than he thought.

[Kim Jae-kyung/Ukrainian War Volunteers: The village is now in a sagebrush, and we can't recover all the bodies completely.]

It was also said that there were other Korean volunteer troops left in Ukraine.

[Kim Jae-kyung/Volunteer Army for the Ukrainian War: My colleagues are new Koreans. I went because I thought I was mistaken, but they are Koreans. He is probably still there.]

He stressed that he could be punished for entering Ukraine, which has been banned from travel, without permission, but he did not regret it.

[Kim Jae-kyung/Ukrainian War Volunteers: I acted to defend my personal beliefs, but it is clear that I broke the laws of my country, so I will be punished sweetly.]

The police, who previously arrested former Captain Lee Geun, who returned from the war last year, on suspicion of violating the Passport Act will soon decide whether to investigate Kim.

(Video Interview: Joo Yong-jin, Video Editing: Ha Seong-won, Screen Credit: Kim Jae-kyung)