Held at the National Assembly Jeonghyeon Hall
Attended by Acting President Choi Sang-mok, Lee Jae-myung, Kwon Young-se, and others
The funeral ceremony for the late Kim Su-han, former Speaker of the National Assembly, was held at 10 a.m. on the 3rd in front of the Jeonghyeon Hall of the National Assembly.
At the funeral ceremony for former Speaker Kim, chaired by Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, with Kim Min-ki, Secretary General of the National Assembly, serving as the executive chairman, attendees included the bereaved family and relatives, members of the funeral committee, as well as key figures from ruling and opposition parties such as Choi Sang-mok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, and representatives from various sectors.
In his eulogy, Speaker Woo said, "Amid martial law, the passenger plane disaster, and difficult economic conditions, our National Assembly and people have spent the past year with heavy and sorrowful hearts and welcomed the new year. At a time when the nation needs a senior statesman more than ever, I wanted to offer New Year's greetings and seek wisdom, but you have left us so suddenly, deepening our sorrow." He added, "I will deeply remember your words, 'I hope the National Assembly will lead the uninterrupted development of the Republic of Korea,' and overcome the current difficulties with greater responsibility."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, also paid tribute in his memorial address, saying, "We will strive harder to ensure that tragedies caused by unlawful state power never happen again," and "We are facing another crisis now. We will restore the democratic values that the late speaker protected throughout his life."
Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, also expressed his condolences, stating, "As a great elder of our politics and our party’s standing advisor, your words, 'We must not lose our composure especially when the political situation is chaotic,' still echo in my ears. I will uphold those words with high regard," and added, "As the ruling party, we will stabilize the situation quickly."
Former Speaker Kim, a senior politician of the Sangdo-dong faction, was born in 1928 in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, and was elected as a national district member of the 7th National Assembly under the New Democratic Party in July 1967, serving six terms in total including the 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, and 15th National Assemblies. He served as the Speaker of the 15th National Assembly during the first half of the Kim Young-sam administration from 1996 to 1998.
The late speaker also served as ▲spokesperson of the New Democratic Party ▲vice chairman of the New Korea Democratic Party ▲standing advisor and chairman of the standing advisory committee of the United Liberal Democrats ▲standing advisor of the New Korea Party ▲and chairman of the standing advisory committee of the Liberty Korea Party and People Power Party. He is well known for coining the term 'nalchigi' (literally 'flying paper'), referring to the illegal and hasty passage of bills, and was regarded as a masterful spokesperson to the extent that the phrase 'the opposition party lives by Kim Su-han’s words' was coined.
During his fourth term as a lawmaker in 1980, he was illegally detained for a month by the Joint Investigation Headquarters of the Martial Law Command under the new military regime led by Chun Doo-hwan, forced to relinquish his parliamentary seat, had his property confiscated, and was banned from political activities. On March 2 last year, the 2nd Past Affairs Committee for Truth and Reconciliation recognized him as a victim of human rights violations committed by the military regime and recommended a state apology and restoration of honor.
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