‘YS right-hand man’ Choi Hyung-woo, former Minister of Home Affairs, passes away… Kim Min-seok and Jang Dong-hyeok to serve as co-chairs of the funeral committee - 경향신문

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Choi Hyung-woo, former minister of home affairs long known as the eternal right-hand man of former President Kim Young-sam, passed away on the 24th. He was 91. Leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties visited the mourning chapel to pay their respects to the late minister, who had been at the forefront of the democratization movement and was regarded as a towering figure of the Sangdo-dong faction. A condolence wreath sent by President Lee Jae Myung was also placed there.

Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (center), and Kim Moo-sung, former Saenuri Party (predecessor to the People Power Party; right) leader, talk after paying their respects at the mourning chapel for former Minister of Home Affairs Choi Hyung-woo at the funeral hall of Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 25th. Yonhap News

Born in Ulsan in 1935, the former minister graduated from Busan Technical High School and from Dongguk University with a degree in political science and international relations. During the April 19 Revolution in 1960, he served as the student representative of Dongguk University, and in 1968 he was the secretary general of the ‘April 19 and June 3 Pan-Youth Association’. In the 1971 8th general election, he ran as a New Democratic Party candidate in the Ulsan-Ulju constituency and was elected to the National Assembly for the first time; he went on to serve six terms as a lawmaker in the 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th National Assemblies.

His legislative career began with torture. In October of the year after he was first elected to the Assembly, when the Yushin system was proclaimed, he directly challenged the Park Chung-hee regime's intention to extend its rule during a government questioning session in the National Assembly. For that, he was taken to the Defense Security Command and tortured for three months. Shortly after the new military regime of Chun Doo-hwan expanded the May 17 nationwide martial law in 1980, he was taken away again by the Security Command and even lost his seat.

Even after losing his seat, he did not leave former President Kim's side. In 1981 he joined the Democratic Alpine Club founded by Kim and built up its organization, and when political activity restrictions were lifted in 1984, he stood at the center of the anti-dictatorship struggle of civic and opposition forces the following year as secretary general of the Council for the Promotion of Democracy. After serving as vice president of the New Democratic Party and as senior vice president and floor leader of the United Democratic Party, he and Kim Dong-young, former Minister for Political Affairs I, were called ‘Left Dong-young, Right Hyung-woo’.

When the Democratic Liberal Party was launched through the three-party merger in 1990, he moved to the ruling party and served as Minister for Political Affairs I. After former President Kim was elected in the 1992 presidential election, he served as secretary general of the Democratic Liberal Party and as minister of home affairs, playing a key role in the early reforms of the Civilian Government. After being elected in the 1996 15th general election, he was counted among the ‘9 Dragons’, the group of prospective next leaders of the New Korea Party. However, ahead of the 1997 presidential election, he suffered a stroke and withdrew from frontline politics, and he battled illness for nearly 30 years thereafter.

Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party, pays his respects on the 25th at the mourning chapel for former Minister of Home Affairs Choi Hyung-woo at the funeral hall of Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News

Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited the mourning chapel set up at the funeral hall of Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 25th. In the guestbook, he wrote, ‘You were a great elder of democratization. We extend our deepest condolences.’ After paying his respects, he told reporters, “The former minister made great contributions to democratization and strove to uphold the Buma Democratic Uprising and the spirit of May 18,” adding, “We should all reflect together beyond party lines so that we can honor the roots of democratization.”

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig visited the mourning chapel in the afternoon. Speaking to reporters after paying his respects, Jang said, “When I received my first assignment to the Ministry of Education, he was the minister of home affairs,” and added, “While others used the minister-only elevator, Minister Choi always rode the elevators used by ordinary staff with us and communicated with them, as I remember.” Jang passed the higher civil service examination and worked as a section chief at the Ministry of Education.

Jang said, “As a politician and as a minister, he accumulated many achievements and made great efforts for political democratization in the history of Korean politics,” adding, “Upholding the deceased's will, those of us in politics today will strive harder to deliver better politics that make the people smile.”

Kim and Jang serve as co-chairs of the funeral committee. The funeral committee chairs are Kwon No-gap, chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Foundation; Kim Deok-ryong, chairman of the Kim Young-sam Democracy Center; and Chung Dae-chul, president of the Korea National Assembly Members Association. On becoming co-chairs with Jang, Kim said, “At the roots that the former minister and former President Kim Young-sam aspired to were connections to the Buma Uprising and the spirit of May 18,” adding, “In that sense, I hope this can be a process in which the ruling and opposition parties confirm that they share the same roots.”

A condolence wreath from President Lee Jae Myung is placed at the mourning chapel for former Minister of Home Affairs Choi Hyung-woo at the funeral hall of Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 24th. Yonhap News

Survivors include his spouse, Won Young-il, and two sons and two daughters (Seok-gyun, Je-wan, Eun-ji, and Eun-sil). The funeral will be held under the auspices of the Korea National Assembly Members Association and the Association of Meritorious Persons of the April 19 Revolution. The farewell ceremony is at 8 a.m. on the 27th, and the interment will be at the National April 19 Democratic Cemetery.