'Symbol of Democratization' Civic Activist Jang Gi-pyo Passes Away
State Funeral Committee Chairs Kim Bu-gyeom, Lee Bu-young, Kim Jeong-nam
Farewell Ceremony at 5 AM on 26th... Interment at Democratization Memorial Park
The funeral committee chairman for Jang Gi-pyo, director of the New Civilization Policy Research Institute, who devoted his life to civic activism outside the institutional political sphere and was called the "eternal dissident," has been appointed. Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, former Chairman of the Uri Party Lee Boo-young, and former Blue House Chief of Education and Culture Kim Jung-nam will serve as funeral committee chairmen.
The funeral committee for the social funeral organized by the "Jang Gi-pyo Teacher Democratization Movement Memorial Association" announced this composition on the 23rd. Former Prime Minister Kim formed a bond with the deceased while engaging in democratization movements in the dissident circles. He is known to have maintained a close friendship with the deceased until recently. Former Chairman Lee led democratization movements against the military dictatorship regimes during the 1970s and 1980s. Former Chief Kim has been with Director Jang since the 1960s, contributing to the production of the "Jeon Tae-il Biography," among other efforts.
On the afternoon of the 22nd, mourners are paying their respects at the funeral hall of Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the funeral of Jang Ki-pyo, director of the Shinmyeong Policy Research Institute, is being held. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Lee Jae-oh, chairman of the Democratization Movement Memorial Association, will serve as the chief mourner to see off the deceased on his final journey. The executive chairmen of the funeral committee are Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, and Moon Guk-joo, chairman of the June Democratic Uprising Succession Association. Key funeral committee members include former Bareunmirae Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu, People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun, Professor Emeritus Choi Jang-jip of Korea University, former Cultural Heritage Administration head Yoo Hong-jun, and relatives of martyr Jeon Tae-il, representing political and labor circles.
The deceased passed away at the age of 78 at 1:35 a.m. on the 22nd at the National Cancer Center in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province. The funeral hall was set up at Seoul National University Hospital. After the funeral procession at 5 a.m. on the 26th, the body will be interred at the Democratization Memorial Park in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi Province.
Born in 1945 in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do, as the youngest of four sons and two daughters, he graduated from Masan Technical High School. He entered Seoul National University’s College of Law in 1966 but devoted himself to student and labor movements following the self-immolation incident of martyr Jeon Tae-il, serving nine years in prison and graduating only in 1995.
After founding the Minjung Party in 1990, Director Jang mainly engaged with progressive parties and ran for the National Assembly seven times but was unsuccessful each time. In the 21st general election, he ran as a candidate for the United Future Party (predecessor of the People Power Party). The following year, in 2021, he ran as a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party’s presidential election.
In 2020, Yoon Seok-yeol and Jang Gi-pyo, who were preliminary candidates in the People Power Party presidential primary, visited the Jeon Tae-il Bridge at Cheonggyecheon, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and took a commemorative photo in front of the statue of the martyr Jeon Tae-il. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group
He devoted his entire life to labor and civic movements but never entered institutional politics, earning the nickname "eternal dissident."
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