17th Anniversary of the Late Chung Mong-hun, Chairman of Hyundai Group... Quiet Memorial Ceremony at Ancestral Home

Employees are heading to work on the morning of the 24th at the Hyundai Group building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the Hyundai Asan office is located, amid North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un's critical remarks and directives regarding tourism in Mount Kumgang. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] A memorial event was held to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the late Chung Mong-hun, chairman of Hyundai Group. Due to the deteriorated inter-Korean relations and the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), this year's memorial ceremony was held quietly.

According to Hyundai Group on the 4th, the memorial ceremony for the late Chairman Chung Mong-hun was held in the morning at his ancestral burial site in Changwoo-dong, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi Province, attended by about 30 people including Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, family members such as Executive Director Chung Ji-i of Hyundai Mobis, key executives including Song Seung-bong, president of Hyundai Elevator, and Lee Baek-hoon, CEO of Hyundai Asan.

Since the passing of the late Chairman Chung Mong-hun in 2003, Hyundai Group has held memorial events in front of the memorial monument in the North Korean Mount Kumgang Special Zone, but since 2016, the events have experienced ups and downs depending on inter-Korean relations. In 2016, as inter-Korean relations froze, they did not apply for a visit to the North; in 2018, with North Korea's approval, a memorial ceremony was held in Mount Kumgang for the first time in three years, but last year it was canceled due to disapproval.

A Hyundai Group official explained, "This year, Hyundai Asan did not apply for a visit to the North due to issues such as inter-Korean relations," adding, "Considering COVID-19, the event was held quietly while complying with quarantine rules such as conducting temperature checks."