Ex-military officials, politicians pay respects at late Pres. Chun’s funeral altar

Nov 25, 2021, 09:25 am

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Relatives pay condolences to deceased former President Chun Doo-hwan at a funeral altar for him at Severance Hospital in Seoul on Nov. 24, 2021./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lee Wook-jae

The casketing ceremony of Chun Doo-hwan, who served as the nation’s 11th and 12th president, will be held on Thursday in a Buddhist style. The funeral will be held not as a state funeral, but as a five-day family funeral. This is the first time since the South Korean government introduced the state funeral system that it has not followed the state funeral specifications for the former general ruler’s funeral.

Political figures were occasionally seen heading to Chun’s funeral on the second day, but it looked quiet unlike the funeral of former President Roh Tae-woo. As the Blue House as well as presidential candidates of the ruling and opposition parties had previously stated that they would not pay condolences, few political figures visited the mortuary. Former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, the main opposition People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok, and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong sent flowers and condolence messages.

The first prominent visitor to Chun’s funerary altar at Severance Hospital in Seoul was former U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Ex-military officials from Chun’s secretary military club named Hanahoe as well as officials of the 5th Republic, including former lawmakers Park Cheol-eon and Kim Yong-gap and retired four-star Army general Cho Nam-poong, also paid their respects to Chun.

“During Chun’s presidency, there was an undisclosed achievement on the way to national security, reconciliation of inter-Korean relations, and peaceful unification,” said former lawmaker Park Cheol-eon. “In fact, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Chun was always heartbroken (about the May 18 democratic movement) and prayed for a speedy recovery since there were sacrifices in bloody situation,” Park added. Former lawmaker Kim Yong-gap claimed that the June 29 Declaration, where Roh Tae-woo announced constitutional amendments to the direct presidential system, was made with Chun’s persuasion.

Meanwhile, Chun’s casketing ceremony will be held in a Buddhist style on Thursday at 10 a.m.. The funeral will be held as a five-day family funeral in consideration of the schedule of Chun’s third son Chun Jae-man returning home from the United States on Thursday. His funeral service is scheduled to take place on Saturday.

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