Chief of Ex-President’s Birth Place Murdered
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
The chief of a civic organization that looks after the house where former President Park Chung-hee was born was murdered by a man in his 20s at the house, Wednesday evening.
Kim Jae-hak, 81, was hit on the head by a man wielding a blunt weapon in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, according to local police.
Police said the suspect, identified as Kang, bound Kim’s hands and feet before killing him.
``We caught the suspect near the scene and are questioning him,’’ an investigator said. The suspect’s motive was not immediately known.
The murder came less than two weeks before National Assembly elections on April 9. Park Geun-hye, the former chairwoman of the Grand National Party (GNP) and a daughter of the former president, was reportedly staying in Daegu, where she had registered her candidacy for the upcoming elections.
Kim has managed the house since the middle of the 1980s.
In 2006 when Park was attacked by a man during the election campaign, Kim acted as a key player to gather her supporters and get many people to vote for the GNP. He also served as former committee leader for Park’s election campaign.
If the murder has any political overtones, it could have an influence on the elections.
The late Park grabbed power through a military coup in 1961 and hung onto it until 1979 when he was assassinated.