Altars for 46 Sailors Established Nationwide

By Kim Se-jeong

Staff Reporter

A joint funeral for 46 sailors killed in the sinking of the Cheonan last month will be held at a naval base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday, following a five-day national mourning period.

The day of the funeral was designated a national day of mourning, Sunday.

At the request of the families of the victims, the Navy's search and rescue operations in the West Sea came to an end Saturday.

Of the ship's 104 crew members, 40 have been confirmed dead. Six more still remained missing, but the government and their families have agreed to classify them as killed in action.

Fifty-eight sailors were rescued soon after the warship started sinking near the Western Sea border with North Korea on the night of March 26.

The last body found Saturday was that of Petty Officer 1st Class Park Seong-gyun, who was born in October 1989 in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.

All civil servants will wear a black ribbon during the mourning period, and the whole nation will observe a minute of silence at 10 a.m. on the day of the funeral.

National flags will be flown at half-mast at all government buildings that day.

The first memorial altar for the fallen sailors was established at the Navy's 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, where families of the missing sailors have been staying. Altars were also set up in 16 other cities nationwide.

In Seoul, the altar is at the Seoul Plaza near the City Hall. Outside of Seoul they will be in Suwon, Uijeongbu and Pocheon in Gyeonggi Province; Chuncheon and Donghae in Gangwon Province; Sungju in North Gyeongsang Province; Busan; Gwangju; Daegu; Ulsan; Incheon; and Jeju Island.

The Navy said altars will be set up at 89 major military bases nationwide in honor of the deceased seamen.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Sung-chan will preside over the funeral, which will be of the highest level for fallen seamen, the Navy said.

The bodies of some of the sailors will be cremated, but all will be interred at the National Cemetery in Daejeon after the service.