[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The team of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol has announced that they will invite Lee Soon-ja, the wife of Jeon Du-hwan, to the inauguration ceremony scheduled for the 10th of next month.
According to Yonhap News TV on the 28th, an official from the Presidential Inauguration Preparation Committee stated regarding Lee's invitation, "She is being invited as a family member of a former president," and added, "We plan to send the invitation letter by hand on the 29th."
He continued, "The current custom for the inauguration ceremony is to invite the bereaved families or relatives of deceased presidents, as well as those who are still alive," and added, "We will send the invitation letters after determining the appropriateness according to the current situation."
Regarding former presidents' spouses like Lee, whose honors have been revoked, he said, "The appropriateness will be judged according to custom," and added, "Due to sensitivity, it has not been fully decided yet. It will become clear once all the invitation letters are sent."
Jeon Du-hwan was stripped of former president honors after being found guilty of charges including the December 12 military coup, the bloody massacre of Gwangju citizens, and the creation of astronomical slush funds.
Earlier, on the 27th, Park Joo-sun, a member of the Presidential Inauguration Preparation Committee, stated at a press conference that "Former President Park Geun-hye has expressed her intention to attend President-elect Yoon's inauguration ceremony."
At that time, Committee member Park explained, "The living former presidents are Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, but Lee Myung-bak is effectively unable to attend due to imprisonment. Instead, the wives and bereaved families of former presidents have all been included as invitees."
Meanwhile, President-elect Yoon's inauguration ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on May 10 in the front yard of the National Assembly building. The event will invite approximately 41,000 people; previously, about 70,000 attended Park Geun-hye's inauguration, and about 50,000 attended Lee Myung-bak's.
The inauguration budget is 3.318 billion KRW, the highest amount among all presidents. Former President Kim Young-sam spent 1 billion KRW, Kim Dae-jung 1.4 billion KRW, Roh Moo-hyun 2 billion KRW, Lee Myung-bak 2.5 billion KRW, and Park Geun-hye 3.1 billion KRW. President Moon Jae-in, who held a simplified inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly the day after the presidential election, omitted the inauguration banquet.
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