On the 26th, three days after the death of former Minister of the Interior Choi Hyeong-woo, the 'right-hand man' and political comrade of former President Kim Young-sam (YS), political figures continued to visit the funeral.
Kim Deok-ryong, chairman of the Kim Young-sam Center, who chaired the funeral committee, Jeong Dae-cheol, chairman of the National Constitutional Association, and former Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung, who was from Sangdo-dong, guarded the mortuary set up at the funeral hall of Samsung Seoul Hospital in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, while Kwon No-gap, chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Foundation, the chairman of the Donggyo-dong community, also visited the mortuary in the afternoon.
After laying a wreath, Chairman Kwon bowed his head to greet the deceased and then bowed his head again in silence.
Then, without saying anything, he held the hand of former Minister Choi's wife, Mrs. Won Young-il, and shook it as if to offer comfort.
After greeting the bereaved family, Chairman Kwon shook hands with former CEO Kim Moo-sung, who came to meet him, saying, "I'm sorry (I'm sorry) for coming late." People around me said, “The greatest adult in existence has arrived.”
After paying his condolences, Chairman Kwon sat face to face with Sangdo-dong Chairman Kim Deok-ryong, who was called the ‘YS alter ego.’ In the guestbook, he wrote, ‘Please rest in peace Minister Choi Hyung-woo.’
Chairman Kwon met with Yonhap News and recalled, “(Former Minister Choi) lived with me in a ‘brother and younger brother’ relationship,” and added, “Comrade Choi Hyung-woo was the most courageous political fighter among Korean politicians.”
Chairman Kwon said, “Because (former presidents Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung) served as presidents, there were divisions on both sides, but even when they split (the Sangdo-dong and Donggyo-dong factions), they never fought,” and added, “We always cooperated, negotiated with each other, had lunch together, shared opinions, and became very close brothers.”
He said, "When I look at politics now, there is a regret that says, 'It shouldn't be like this.' We have to make concessions to each other. We need to compromise our opinions and come to an agreement. It's unfortunate that we don't have that."
Former President Lee Myung-bak also visited the funeral home that day, knelt in front of the deceased's portrait, burned incense, then stood up and bowed his head deeply in silence for about a minute.
Next, he met with Mrs. Won, a classmate of Pohang Yeongheung Elementary School, and reminisced about the past years.
Mrs. Won said, "(Former Minister Choi's age) is over 90. He is 92, and this year he celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary. That's why I said thank you for living for 60 years." Former President Lee patted First Lady Won's hand, saying, "You put your family through a lot of hardship."
Former President Lee's last words to former Minister Choi were, "I hope you can live comfortably in heaven," and "I lived a very difficult life in this world."
At the funeral, former President Lee met former National Assembly Speaker Chung Eui-hwa and classmates from elementary and middle school who came to pay their respects.
Minister of Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul also met with Yonhap News after paying his respects and said, "I was not able to attend the deceased, but I was in frequent contact with his wife and daughter about the issue of public handling of the democratic generation and medals related to April 19."
Minister Kwon, who visited former Minister Choi in his hospital bed about ten years ago, said, "(Former Minister Choi) must have had a really hard time in his hospital bed. I hope that when he goes to the next world, he will not be sick and be healthy."
He said, "I hope that the democracy that he (the deceased) wanted to achieve during his lifetime has blossomed in a more mature and mature way, and that we have gone beyond simple political democratization to a society where all aspects are democratized."
At the mortuary, condolences continued throughout the day from political figures who wanted to be with the deceased on his final journey.
Senior politicians such as former Saenuri Party leader Hwang Woo-yeo, former Gyeonggi Governor Lee In-je, former lawmakers Shin Kyeong-sik, Jang Young-dal, Lee Boo-young, Park Seok-moo, and Cho Ik-hyeon, former Minister Lee Seok-chae, and YS Executive Director Kim Ki-soo, as well as former lawmakers Shin Seong-beom, Kim Doo-gwan, Baek Jong-heon, and Jeong Seong-guk, and former lawmakers Jeon Byeong-hun and Won Yoo-cheol gave their final greetings to the deceased.
At the Blue House, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Ik-pyo visited the funeral to pay condolences. Former Foreign Minister Park Jin of the Yoon Seok-yeol government also visited the funeral.
Representative Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party of Korea also sat down with Chairman Noh-gap Kwon, Chairman Deok-ryong Kim, and former Chairman Moo-sung Kim after paying his condolences this evening.
Rep. Song wrote in the guestbook, 'May our senior Choi Hyung-woo rest in peace, who dedicated his life to restoring democratic constitutional order in the Democratic Republic of Korea by going through the long tunnel of military dictatorship.'
The flowers of President Lee Jae-myung, former Presidents Moon Jae-in, and Lee Myung-bak were placed on either side of the portrait of former Minister Choi, but the flowers of former President Park Geun-hye and the imprisoned former President Yoon Seok-yeol were not noticeable.
The funeral will be held at 9 a.m. on the 27th at the funeral hall of Samsung Seoul Hospital in Seoul. Chairman Kim Deok-ryong and Secretary General Hong Ki-hoon of the Constitutional Association conduct the investigation on behalf of Chairman Jeong Dae-cheol. Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok and People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk are also scheduled to investigate as joint funeral committee chairs.
After the cremation is completed at the Seongnam Market Funeral Center in Gyeonggi Province, a burial ceremony will be held at the National April 19th Democracy Cemetery at 3 p.m.
