Thousands mourn death of ex-democracy activist Kim Geun-tae

A stream of mourners visited Sunday the funeral home of the late Unified Democratic Party standing adviser Kim Geun-tae, who passed away Friday. Those returning from trips to see the New Year`s first sunrise began flooding in Sunday.

The rites of placing Kim`s corpse in a coffin was held Saturday with those in attendance including his widow In Jae-geun, former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, main opposition United Democratic Party member Lee In-yeong, and former Rep. Chang Yeong-dal at the funeral hall of Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul`s Jongno district.

When Rev. Hahm Se-woong in charge of the funeral said, “We leave Kim Geun-tae at the heart of history,” the funeral home turned into a sea of tears.

Kim Byeong-joon, the son of the deceased, said, “I will live my life by carrying out what my father said.”

United Democratic Party standing adviser Sohn Hak-kyu led democratic movements along with Kim Geun-tae and the late lawyer Cho Yeong-rae when they attended Seoul National University. Sohn remained at the funeral home for three days through Sunday.

"Kim Geun-tae had a pure soul and fiery passion for justice," Sohn said, adding, “He has passed away but his passion remains strong.”

At 12:10 p.m. Saturday, Park Geun-hye, acting chairwoman of the ruling Grand National Party, visited the funeral home to pay her respects. "He was a very integral person," she said, adding, “I`m sorry for the loss of Kim, who had a lot of things to do for the country.”

Many politicians from the ruling camp also paid their respects to the deceased as well Saturday through Sunday. They include Rev. In Myeong-jin, who served as chairman of the ruling party`s ethics committee, former National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyung-o, former ruling party leader Chung Mong-joon, ruling party lawmakers Kim Moo-sung, Nam Kyung-pil and Lee Jong-gu, and former presidential chief of staff Yim Tae-hee.

More than 100 former and incumbent lawmakers from the United Democratic Party participated in the wake.

Countless citizens also visited the funeral home. The wall of the funeral home was covered with more than 1,000 scrap papers mourning the death of the democracy activist. One homeless person wrote, “Peace to the soul of Rep. Kim Geun-tae, the flower of democracy.” A 5-year-old boy who followed his mother drew a heart on a memo pad.

The funeral committee said a combined 35,000 people paid their respects through 4 p.m. Sunday -- more than 20,000 people Friday, 5,000 people Saturday, and 4,000 people Sunday.

The National Police Agency said Sunday that a police officer from the agency`s human rights protection center placed flowers to pay his respects to the late democracy activist in front the gate of the former interrogation room in Yongsan, Seoul where Kim Geun-tae was tortured. The interrogation room is now the police agency`s human rights protection center.

Police Lt. Lee Joon-hyeong posted a message on the agency`s computer network urging the establishment of a mourning altar for Kim Geun-tae at the human rights protection center, which the majority of officers agreed. Others disagreed, however, with one saying, “We don’t need to reopen a scar from the past as we also have police officers who were also killed in democratic movements."

hjson@donga.com