- Title: South Korea holds state funeral of former president Kim Young-sam
- Date: 26th November 2015
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (NOVEMBER 26, 2015) (AGENCY POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREAN PRIME MINISTER, HWANG KYO-AHN, SAYING: "I am grieving the death of the president as well as show my gratitude to the leaders from all around the world and foreign diplomatic envoys who have expressed their condolences. Along with all people in our country, I pray for the soul of former President Kim Young-sam who was like a big mountain."
- Embargoed: 11th December 2015 08:30
- Keywords: South Korea funeral Kim Young-sam
- Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- City: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0063B1V3GL
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: South Korea held a state funeral of former president Kim Young-sam on Thursday (November 26), who died at the aged of 87 over the weekend.
Thousands of mourners gathered in the grounds of the National Assembly in Seoul to mark the death of Kim, who was elected to office in 1992 and put an end to more than three decades of military rule.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited an altar for Kim at the Seoul National University Hospital, just before the hearse carrying Kim departed for the funeral, South Korea's presidential office said. However, Park did not attend the funeral.
South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn expressed his condolences during his speech at the funeral.
"I am grieving the death of the president, as well as show my gratitude to the leaders from all around the world and foreign diplomatic envoys who have expressed their condolences. Along with all people in our country, I pray for the soul of former President Kim Young-sam who was like a big mountain," Hwang said.
After the state funeral, the coffin carrying Kim's body will be moved into a burial ground at the Seoul National Cemetery.
Kim, who had been in ill health and repeatedly hospitalized in the past three years, died of complications from sepsis and heart failure soon after midnight on Sunday, Seoul National University Hospital President Oh Byung-hee said.
Kim first won a parliamentary seat in his late twenties, beginning a life-long career in politics during which he challenged a string of authoritarian leaders and pushed for democratic reform.
He was criticized for failing to join forces with rival democracy leader Kim Dae-jung when military leaders agreed in 1987 to a constitutional amendment allowing free direct voting for the presidency, losing to former general Roh Tae-woo.
He would go on to win the next election in 1992 and served as president from 1993 to 1998 under the 1987 constitution that to this day allows for a single five-year term.
Kim saw the country's economy take a nose-dive in the final months of his presidency, weighed down by massive foreign debt and culminating in the biggest bailout of the Asian financial crisis by the International Monetary Fund. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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