Chinese envoy to South Korea mourns ‘old friend of China’ Roh Tae-woo

South Korea’s last military general-turned-president established diplomatic ties with China in 1992 after severing ties with Taiwan

Ambassador Xing Haiming said he was ‘very saddened’ by the death of Roh, noting his ‘significant achievements’ in setting up Beijing-Seoul relations

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People mourn South Korea’s former president Roh Tae-woo at a memorial altar in Seoul National University Hospital. Photo: Yonhap via Reuters

Published: 4:13pm, 28 Oct 2021Updated: 4:13pm, 28 Oct 2021

The top Chinese envoy in South Korea expressed his condolences on Thursday over the death of former President Roh Tae-woo, praising his roles in opening up diplomatic ties between the two countries and calling him “an old friend” of China.

Roh, South Korea’s last military general-turned-president, died on Tuesday aged 88 after being bedridden for more than a decade from a degenerative brain disorder.

Seoul has decided to honour Roh, who is credited with aiding the country’s democratic transition despite his involvement in a 1979 military coup, with a state funeral on Saturday.

Xing Haiming, the Chinese ambassador to South Korea, visits a memorial altar to Roh Tae-woo at Seoul National University Hospital on Thursday. Photo: YouTube

“I am very saddened by his death … [Roh] is an old friend of China. His achievements in setting up diplomatic ties with China and severing ties with Taiwan were significant”, Xing Haiming, the Chinese ambassador to South Korea, said as he visited Seoul National University Hospital’s morgue where Roh’s body is being kept and a memorial altar has been set up.

Under his signature Nordpolitik, or Northern Policy, Roh set up diplomatic ties with the former Soviet Union in 1990 and China in 1992, severing ties with Taiwan despite angry protests from Taipei, and opening ties with many other former Soviet-bloc countries.