Burial ceremony for former Pres. Roh Tae-woo held in Paju

Former President Roh Tae-woo who passed away from a chorionic ailment on October 26 was buried in the Donghwa park in Tongil Dongsan, Paju, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday.

The burial ceremony was attended by over 200 people, including his eldest son and chief director of the East Asia Culture Center Roh Jae-heon and his other family members, as well as Interior and Safety Minister Jeon Hae-cheol, Kim Chong-in who served as the senior presidential secretary of economic affairs under Roh and is the current general chair of the People Power Party’s election campaign committee, and former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won. The body of the former president, which was temporarily buried in Geomdan temple in Paju, was moved to the park on Thursday morning and buried next to the rest area of the Donghwa park overlooking North Korea.

“My father said it was a great honor and fortune to have built the history of South Korea along with its people. We have the responsibility to inherit, develop, and improve the legacy left by him as his family members,” said the president’s eldest son. “We will try hard to repay the kindness of many people, including Park Nam-seon, the director of Gwangju Uprising, and Jang Ho-kwoen, the president of the Chang Chun-ha commemoration service association, who showed the spirit of reconciliation and harmony.”

The state funeral ceremony for the former president ended with the burial ceremony on Thursday. The 49th-day memorial rite will take place in Geomdan temple on Monday morning.


Sung-Yeol Yoo ryu@donga.com