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Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential primary candidate, visited the funeral hall at Seoul National University Hospital on the afternoon of the 27th to pay his respects at the late former President Roh Tae-woo's resting place. After offering condolences, he greeted the bereaved family member, Roh Jae-heon, chairman of the East Asia Culture Center. 2021.10.27 Photo by Joint Press Corps [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] On the evening of the 27th, the first day the funeral hall for the late former President Roh Tae-woo was set up, presidential candidates from the People Power Party gathered in one place. While all of them highly praised the late president's 'achievements (功)', they were reserved about his 'mistakes (過)'.

On that day, the four presidential candidates visited the late president's funeral hall around 8 to 9 p.m. simultaneously after finishing the People Power Party presidential debate held in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province in the afternoon. After paying their respects, they shook hands and exchanged kind words with various political figures gathered at the funeral hall.

The first among the candidates to visit the funeral hall was Hong Joon-pyo, a People Power Party lawmaker. After paying respects, he told reporters, "Former President Roh was a person who brought about a groundbreaking shift in North Korea policy by implementing the Northern Policy," adding, "During his term, he declared a war on crime and eradicated organized crime groups in Korean society, which is one of his achievements." Regarding the government's decision to hold a state funeral for the late president, he said, "It is a desirable direction."

However, when asked about the late president's 'mistakes,' he avoided a direct answer, saying, "It would be disrespectful to the deceased, so I will not comment."

Following him, former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong, who also visited the funeral hall, said about the late president, "He should be evaluated as a participant in democratization who created the flow of democratization history through agreements. It was also a period of great progress in welfare and labor rights, such as the introduction of the minimum wage system and the establishment of labor unions," highly praising his 'achievements.' He also mentioned the construction of 2 million houses and the introduction of the concept of land public ownership, emphasizing, "I think he showed a bold and dynamic conservative aspect in various policies."

He mentioned the 'mistakes' as well but was relatively reserved. Former Governor Won said, "The December 12 incident has been evaluated judicially and historically."

Hong Joon-pyo, a presidential primary candidate of the People Power Party, is paying his respects at the funeral hall of Seoul National University Hospital where the late former President Roh Tae-woo's resting place has been set up on the afternoon of the 27th. 2021.10.27 Photo by Joint Press Corps [Image source=Yonhap News]

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, after paying respects, said, "He pioneered our country's defense and diplomacy and built 2 million houses during his term, which stabilized our real estate market for a very long time. Although there were various mistakes, he expressed in his will to 'forgive everything,' and his family members also apologized several times to the people who suffered, so the public will evaluate him based on that."

The last to pay respects was former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who said, "I have already said everything, so I have nothing more to add," and "I hope he rests in peace."

Earlier that day, former Prosecutor General Yoon also held a press conference at the National Assembly to express his stance on the late president. Unlike his remarks defending former President Chun Doo-hwan, he took a somewhat neutral position. He said, "Former President Roh also had mistakes and shadows, as well as achievements and bright sides," adding, "Historically, the evaluations have already been made, and most of the people agree and sympathize with those evaluations." However, emphasizing the mourning period, he avoided mentioning the 'mistakes,' saying, "It would be better to remember only the parts where he worked hard for the country rather than historical evaluations during this time."

At the funeral hall, former Prosecutor General Yoon also shared his thoughts on the remaining nine days of the primary race. He said, "Sometimes the debates get heated, but we are all going forward happily as one team." On the other hand, former Governor Won and former lawmaker Yoo said, "It is not appropriate to talk about the primary here (at the funeral hall)" and did not respond.