Jeon Doo-hwan's Remains Without a Burial Site for 4 Years... Considering 'Home Enshrinement'

[Financial News]  The remains of former President Jeon Doo-hwan, who will mark the 4th anniversary of his death this November, are being considered for 'home enshrinement'.

According to Yonhap News on the 14th, a representative of Mr. Jeon stated to the media, "We are discussing the permanent enshrinement of the remains in the yard of his home in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu." Currently, the remains are temporarily housed in an urn at the home for about 4 years.

Mr. Jeon cannot be buried in a national cemetery because he was sentenced to prison for crimes such as sedition.

Thus, the family has been pursuing a plan to bury him near the ceasefire line, according to Mr. Jeon's memoir, which states, 'I want to remain as bones on a forward hill overlooking the northern land and greet the day of unification.'

In 2023, they made a provisional contract for land in Jangsan-ri, Munsan-eup, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, but the burial plan became known, causing local backlash, and the landowner felt burdened and abandoned the contract.

Since then, Mr. Jeon's side has not been able to find a burial site, and they are ultimately considering the yard of the Yeonhui-dong home, where the ownership by his wife Lee Soon-ja and family is solidified, as Mr. Jeon's final resting place.

The government filed a lawsuit to seize the Yeonhui-dong home as Mr. Jeon's borrowed-name property in 2021, but in February, the Seoul Western District Court dismissed it, stating "the claim for confiscation has been extinguished due to Mr. Jeon's death."

The government appealed, and the second trial will be sentenced at the Seoul High Court on November 20. Currently, about 86 billion won of Mr. Jeon's 220 billion won confiscation amount has not been recovered.

Mrs. Lee Soon-ja is staying at the Yeonhui-dong home, and a dedicated police security team is stationed there 24 hours a day.

Former presidents who completed their terms and their families can receive security from the Presidential Security Service for 10 years, with a possible 5-year extension if necessary. After that, the security duties are transferred to the police.

According to data submitted by the office of Yang Bu-nam, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, from the National Police Agency, the budget allocated to the dedicated security team last year was 22.45 million won.

Taxes were used for public utility charges, facility and equipment maintenance costs, travel expenses, etc., necessary for maintaining the security team.

The National Police Agency, however, refused to disclose the number of personnel in the dedicated security team, citing security issues.

As of 2021, the year Mr. Jeon died, it is reported that at least five police officers, including the security team leader at the rank of inspector, were deployed as the minimum security force.


jjw@fnnews.com Jeong Ji-woo Reporter