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| President Moon Jae-in speaks during a memorial service for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun at the latter's hometown of Bongha Village, Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday, with a cardboard cutout of the late president's figure standing behind him. Moon was Roh's longtime friend and his chief of staff. / Joint press corps |
Moon attends Roh's memorial ceremony
By Choi Ha-young
BONGHA VILLAGE, Gimhae — President Moon Jae-in took part in a memorial ceremony for his late friend and former President Roh Moo-hyun, Tuesday.
This marks an emotional moment for Moon, who announced Roh's death in 2009 as his former chief of staff. Moon has since never failed to participate in the annual ceremony, and this time he came here as the President.
Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province was embroidered with yellow ribbons and balloons for the eighth anniversary of Roh's death.
This year, joy and hope were palpable in addition to lamentations and tears, in the small farming town where Roh was born and ended his life. On the way to the village, placards welcomed Moon and guests.
"As time goes by, more and more people are remembering him. His name has become a symbol of a society where justice and principles worked," Moon said in a speech. "His dream that was once frustrated by the mighty wall of harsh reality has been revived through the awakening of citizens. This time, we will not fail."
Moon's inauguration followed a landslide victory in the May 9 presidential election after massive street rallies contributed to the ouster of conservative ex-President Park Geun-hye.
Around 50,000 guests packed Bongha Village. During the weekend, 35,000 people had already paid their respects.
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Unlike the previous events under nine years of conservative administrations, party leaders, about 70 lawmakers, governors and ranking government officials made an appearance.
However, the President was extremely careful not to make this event a "liberals' celebration party." Obviously concerned about a possible ideological duel around the deceased symbolic figure, Moon asked people to "let him go."
"This will be my last time to come here as a president," said Moon. "After accomplishing my duty, I will revisit here definitely as a successful former president," he added, apparently confirming his determination to remove "deep-rooted evils" in society.
Out of Roh's shade, Moon has promised to make the scandal-hit society right by integrating people in a different manner than his friend. Unlike the event in 2015 when Roh's only son Roh Geon-ho blasted a conservative politician, the liberal heavyweights were hopeful and future-oriented.
"A new era is looming. Democracy is reviving and the rigid wall of regionalism is falling away," former National Assembly Speaker Lim Chae-jung, who headed Roh's transition team, said in a commemorative speech.
"We will not lament anymore. Please be free from all anxieties and drink as much as you want. We will stay away and achieve your dream," Lim said.
Roh's voice resonated over the village. In video clips aired, participants reminisced about his upright reformist policy lines and hard-hitting speaking style. The former human rights lawyer was bold enough to once throw his nameplate in protest at military dictator Chun Doo-hwan.
"Thinking about him once, I remember him riding a bicycle in this village," a tearful Kim Hyun-ju, 59, told The Korea Times, missing his easygoing attitude toward people.
Another participant surnamed Jung, 54, said she flew from Washington D.C. to take part in this event. "I feel guilty about not being able to help him to achieve his dream," she said.
Due to his straightforward style, he faced an enormous backlash from conservatives. Some associates around him failed to sustain his progressive policies. Now, based on five years of experience and nine years of perseverance to take power, Moon is laying out his reformist plans.
"Based on the foundation that Roh established, I hope Moon becomes a solid tree," Han Jang-heon, 45, from Busan, said. "As Moon pointed out, I hope the spirit of Roh helps to exert momentum for Moon's reformist policies."
Participants longed for the late president singing, "Like the river we will meet again in the end." The iconic song, "March for the Beloved," made a grand finale of the event, for the second time after the new president took office, following the commemorative ceremony for the May 18 Democratic Uprising.
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