hankyoreh

A portrait of the late Lee Hee-ho

“When I get to heaven, I’ll pray for the Korean people and for our peaceful reunification.”

In her final moments before passing away on the night of June 10, Lee Hee-ho, chair of the board of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center, was thinking about peace on the Korean Peninsula.

On June 11, Kim Seong-jae, chair of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center and the chair of the executive committee for Lee’s funeral, related Lee’s final words. According to Kim, Lee expressed her gratitude to the Korean people for showing so much affection to her and her husband, former president Kim Dae-jung, and her hope that Koreans would live lives of happiness, harmony, and brotherly love.

Lee also asked for her home in Seoul’s Donggyo neighborhood to be converted into a museum preserving the presidential residence. According to the wishes of the deceased, the award money from Kim Dae-jung’s Nobel Peace Prize will be used to fund memorial projects for the former president.

While entrusting Kim Seong-jae with the responsibility of executing her will, Lee reportedly asked him to carry on the memorial projects for her late husband (former President Kim Dae-jung) and the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center’s work on behalf of democracy and peaceful reunification. Lee and her family members have been working on drafting her will since last year.

Lee passed away at 11:37 pm on the night of June 10 at Severance Hospital in Sinchon, in Seoul’s Seodaemun District. She was 97 years old.

“Some newspapers reported that Lee Hee-ho was battling liver cancer, but she was never diagnosed with cancer. Her life was brought to an end by an illness resulting from her advanced age,” said a spokesperson from the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center on Monday night.

Lee’s health had rapidly deteriorated this year, and she was hospitalized several times for colds and other conditions. In April, newspapers reported that her condition was critical, and when her eldest son and former lawmaker Kim Hong-il died on Apr. 20, her friends and family were unable to communicate the news to Lee.

Lee’s funeral will be open to the public, organized by a funeral committee consisting of hundreds of individuals. The committee will be co-chaired by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, former Prime Minister Chang Sang, and Kwon No-gap, an advisor for the Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP). The heads of the five largest ruling and opposition parties will be advising the committee, and PDP Lawmaker Park Jie-won and Choi Yong-jun, chairman of Chunjae Education, will be serving as deputy chairs.

Shortly after Lee Hee-ho’s death, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is currently on a tour of three Nordic countries, called Lee Nak-yeon and instructed him to serve as a co-chair of the funeral committee.

“The government will provide the deceased with honor and support in a manner appropriate to her dedication and accomplishments. Since the president is overseas, I will sometimes be obliged to host leaders visiting from abroad to pay their condolences,” Lee Nak-yeon said during a cabinet meeting at the government complex in Seoul on Tuesday. The prime minister instructed cabinet members to make thorough preparations for the funeral.

Lee Hee-ho reportedly remained conscious until the end and went to her eternal rest while her family looked on. She opened her eyes briefly when Kwon Yang-sook, wife of former president Roh Moo-hyun, visited the hospital at 4:55 pm on June 10. That was after Kwon said, “We love you and respect you, and we’ll long remember you. It must be great that you’re going to be with your husband.”

At 10:42 pm, as the end drew near, Lee’s family members gathered together to sing the hymn “All The Way My Savior Leads Me” and recite the 23rd Psalm.

“When the family members were singing a hymn and praying together, they were greatly surprised to see Lee Hee-ho’s lips moving, as if she were singing the song along with them. We think she may have remembered the hymn and psalm, which she’d always liked, and joined in the singing. Her end was peaceful,” said a spokesperson for the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center.

Lee is survived by her sons Kim Hong-eop, former lawmaker; Kim Hong-geol, permanent president of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation; and her daughters in law Yun Hye-ra, Sin Seon-ryeon, and Im Mi-gyeong.

The wake will be held over five days at Special Room No. 1 at the funeral parlor at Yonsei University Severance Hospital. Lee’s body will be placed into the casket at 11:30 am on June 12, the funeral procession will take place at 6 am on June 14, and a funeral service will be held at 7 am at Changcheon Church in Sinchon, which Lee attended for her entire life.

Lee will be laid to rest beside her husband at Seoul National Cemetery, in the city’s Dongjak neighborhood.

By Kim Won-chul, Jang Na-rye, and Lee Ji-hye, staff reporters

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]