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Roh Tae-woo’s funeral at Olympic Park in Seoul… “A place of reflection”

The funeral ceremony for Roh Tae-woo, who served as the 13th president, was held today (30th). The venue was Seoul Olympic Park. It was meant to commemorate a major achievement, but words such as mistakes, apologies, and reflections came more heavily.

Correspondent Han So-hee.

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Roh Tae-woo, who served as the 13th president, enters his home in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul.

Following the wishes of the deceased, after the Noje ceremony was held at the house, the carriage procession headed to the Olympic Park.

The funeral ceremony was held right in front of the monument engraved with the words ‘Peace to mankind and glory to the nation’.

[지금부터 고 노태우 대통령 국가장 영결식을 거행하겠습니다.]

In consideration of the deceased’s wish for a frugal funeral and the prevention of COVID-19, the funeral was attended by a minimum of 50 people, including his wife Kim Ok-sook, eldest daughter Roh So-young, and eldest son Jae-heon Roh.

[김부겸/국무총리 : 오늘의 영결식은 고인을 애도하는 자리이자, 새로운 역사, 진실의 역사, 화해와 통합의 역사로 가는 성찰의 자리가 되어야 합니다.]

Singer In Soon-i and tenor Im Woong-gyun sang ‘Hand in Hand’, the theme song for the 1988 Seoul Olympics as a tribute.

There were even picket protests demanding an apology on the 5/18 near the funeral hall.

After cremation, the remains of the deceased were temporarily placed at Geomdansa Temple in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, and will be buried near the Paju Unification Garden as soon as the burial site is prepared.

(Video coverage: Kim Seong-il and Jeong Seong-hwa, video editing: Lee Seung-jin)

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