South Korea pays final respects to former president Roh Tae-woo in small state funeral
- The former president’s send-off was limited to 50 people because of coronavirus restrictions in Seoul
- President Moon Jae-in’s decision to hold a state funeral was controversial because of Roh’s links to a coup and crackdown on pro-democracy protesters
Pandemic restrictions limited the size of funeral services for Roh, who died on Tuesday at the age of 88 from complications from various illnesses. Doctors said his condition worsened in recent years because of a degenerative disorder.
President Moon Jae-in’s decision to hold a state funeral for Roh was controversial because of his links to the coup and a bloody suppression of pro-democracy protesters in the southern city of Gwangju in 1980 that killed around 200 people and injured hundreds of others.
Gwangju and several other cities and provincial governments refused to raise flags half-mast or set up memorial altars for Roh in accordance with state funeral procedures.
Moon, who did not visit Roh’s memorial altar at a Seoul hospital before leaving for Rome on Thursday for meetings with Pope Francis and Group of 20 leaders, said through his office that Roh made “significant contributions to national development despite many historical wrongdoings”.
On the final day of a five-day funeral procession, honour guards wrapped Roh’s coffin with the national flag and placed it into the back of a limousine. The vehicle then rolled out of the hospital and followed a black convertible topped with a huge portrait of Roh in a motorcade that drove toward his house in northern Seoul.
Family members quietly toured the house, led by a grandson who carried a smaller portrait of Roh.
Then they headed toward southern Seoul for a funeral service at a square at Olympic Park, a venue built for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games held during the first year of Roh’s presidency.
The funeral’s participants were limited to 50 people, including relatives, government officials, religious leaders and foreign diplomats, because of Covid-19 concerns.
Roh’s wife, Kim Ok-suk, and their two children, Roh Soh-young and Roh Jae-heon, sat quietly in chairs distanced apart, looking solemnly at the ground.
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Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Seoul’s No. 2, said in a speech that Roh will be remembered for his many accomplishments as president, including the successful hosting of the Olympics, expanding relations with communist nations and easing tensions with North Korea.
Kim also regretted that Roh never apologised in person over the coup and military atrocities, although his children conveyed his remorse while his health deteriorated in recent years.
“It’s undisputable truth President Roh Tae-woo has an immense fault that cannot be erased,” said Kim. “Attending the funeral service today, we realise that nobody is free from the [judgment] of history.”
Roh’s criminal convictions legally prevent him from being buried with other former leaders and national heroes at the country’s national cemetery. His cremated remains will be kept at a Buddhist temple in Paju, north of Seoul, until his tomb is ready at nearby Paju Reunification Park, which was built during his presidency in 1989 as a symbol of peace between the two Koreas.
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South Korea’s controversial former president Roh Tae-woo dies at 88
Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-sup, a member of Moon’s liberal Democratic Party, said the city could not honour Roh when he was a core member of dictator Chun Doo-hwan’s military junta that massacred its citizens.
“He was the president of our country, and while it’s our traditional sentiment to mourn a person who died, Gwangju cannot do that [for Roh],“ Lee said on Wednesday.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that Roh leaves a “complicated legacy” but credited him for solidifying South Korea’s democratic transition as president.
Former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo dies aged 88
Roh took office in 1988 after he became the country’s first directly elected leader in decades following successive military governments in Seoul.
He was a major player in a December 1979 military coup that brought his long-time army friend Chun to power. Their takeover came months after their mentor, dictator Park Chung-hee, was assassinated by his spy chief following 18 years of rule.
After his successor, Kim Young-sam, investigated the coup and the crackdown in Gwangju, Roh was arrested, convicted of mutiny, treason and corruption and received a prison term of 22 and a half years. Chun was sentenced to death.
The Supreme Court later reduced those sentences to life imprisonment for Chun and 17 years for Roh. After spending about two years in prison, Roh and Chun were released in late 1997 under a special pardon requested by then President-elect Kim Dae-jung, who sought national reconciliation.
Roh had stayed mostly out of the public eye following his release from prison. Last April, his daughter, Roh So-young, wrote on Facebook that her father had been bed-bound over the past 10 years without being able to speak or move his body.
