Ruling party mourns Lee Hae-chan: "We will not forget his wishes"

[Financial News] The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on the 26th paid tribute to the late Lee Hae-chan, Senior Vice Chairperson of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (PUAC), who passed away while on an official trip in Vietnam.
Jung Chung-rae, leader of the DPK, said at the supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea that "a symbol of Korea's democratization and a great star of the Democratic Party has fallen." He added, "We have lost a great elder of our time, who opened the dawn of democratization and became the very roots of our party," expressing his condolences.
Jung praised him, calling him "the spiritual pillar of the democratization movement in the 1970s and 1980s, who never yielded despite the harsh repression of the iron-fisted dictatorship." He went on, "His passion for democracy and peace will live and breathe in our hearts forever."
Floor Leader Han Byung-do also shared his feelings, saying, "When I heard the news of the Senior Vice Chairperson's passing yesterday afternoon, my heart truly sank," and, "It feels as though my chest is collapsing."
He continued, "The footsteps of the Senior Vice Chairperson are themselves democratization, democracy, and the history of the Democratic Party," adding, "We remember how he was taken to the Military Security Command (MSC) in 1980, subjected to brutal torture, yet never gave up on Korea's democratization."
He went on to say, "We will never forget the democratic path that the Senior Vice Chairperson walked," and pledged, "We will ensure that the DPK protects Korea's democracy, restores normalcy to the state, and becomes a party that is loved even more by the people."
The DPK plans to set up memorial altars at its city and provincial chapters during the mourning period to receive visitors paying their respects. The party also announced that, aside from essential party affairs, it will focus on mourning the Senior Vice Chairperson.
The Senior Vice Chairperson collapsed on the 23rd while on a business trip to Vietnam to attend a PUAC Asia-Pacific regional steering committee meeting and was rushed to a local hospital. He was diagnosed with a myocardial infarction and underwent stent procedures and other treatments, but ultimately did not recover.
The body of the Senior Vice Chairperson is scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport early on the 27th and will then be transported to the funeral hall at Seoul National University Hospital. The DPK leadership also plans to visit the site to receive him.
gowell@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter