[Asia Economy Reporters Jo In-kyung and Jeon Jin-young] The funeral ceremony for the late Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, scheduled for the 13th, will be held online.
Park Hong-geun, co-chairman of the funeral committee and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a briefing on the 12th and said, "Tomorrow's funeral ceremony will be held online under the principle of cooperating with the prevention of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and conducting it modestly."
According to the funeral committee, the departure will take place at 7:30 a.m. on the 13th at the Seoul National University Hospital funeral hall located in Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Afterwards, the procession will arrive at Seoul Plaza around 8 a.m., and the funeral ceremony will be held from 8:30 a.m. at the multipurpose hall on the 8th floor of Seoul City Hall.
The on-site funeral ceremony will be attended by a limited number of 100 people, including the bereaved family, funeral committee chairpersons, provincial governors, Democratic Party leadership, Seoul city officials, and representatives of civil society. The funeral committee plans to broadcast the entire ceremony live on the Seoul City YouTube channel and the tbs Traffic Broadcasting YouTube channel.
The funeral ceremony will begin with the opening declaration, followed by the national flag salute, a moment of silence for the deceased, a memorial video screening, a memorial song performance, speeches by the three co-chairmen of the funeral committee, floral tributes, and concluding remarks by a representative of the bereaved family.
After the funeral ceremony, the funeral committee announced that Mayor Park's body will be cremated at the Seoul Memorial Park and then moved to his ancestral burial site in Changnyeong, Gyeongnam for interment.
The funeral committee co-chairmen are Professor Emeritus Baek Nak-cheong of Seoul National University, Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan, and Acting Mayor of Seoul Seo Jeong-hyeop. The vice-chairpersons include Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party; Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party; Kwon Young-jin, chairman of the Jeonbuk Provincial Governors Association; Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education; and Kim In-ho, chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council.
The advisory group consists of seven members, including Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, former National Assembly Speakers Kim Won-ki, Im Chae-jung, Moon Hee-sang, and former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Han Seung-heon. The standing executive chairman is Ahn Kyu-baek, chairman of the Democratic Party Seoul branch, and the co-executive chairmen are Lee Dong-jin, chairman of the Seoul City District Mayors Association; Ha Seung-chan, former senior social innovation secretary of the College of Social Sciences; and Park Hong-geun, Democratic Party member.
According to the funeral committee, as of 1 p.m. on the day, about 7,000 people paid their respects at the Seoul National University Hospital funeral hall, and about 11,000 at the altar in front of Seoul City Hall. Approximately 640,000 people have offered flowers at the online altar operated by Seoul City.
At 12:30 p.m. on the same day, Mayor Park's encoffining ceremony was held. The ceremony was completed in 50 minutes with the attendance of the bereaved family, including Park Joo-shin, the son who returned from abroad on the 11th. Park Hong-geun said, "There have been some criticisms that special treatment was given regarding quarantine policies for overseas arrivals, so I would like to clarify the related regulations." He added, "According to the government's COVID-19 response guidelines, direct lineal ascendants and descendants or siblings of the person and their spouse who attend funerals may be exempted from quarantine measures for humanitarian reasons."
In the briefing, Park also appealed to stop secondary harm against the sexual harassment victim. He said, "The death of the deceased is a great shock to the person who reported the victimization, and I believe that painful times have continued for that person since then." He emphasized, "I repeatedly ask that no one who mourns the deceased blame or pressure the victim to cause harm."
He also urged restraint, saying, "Fake news and speculative reports can cause great wounds not only to the deceased and the bereaved family but also to the victim."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
