POSCO founder well remembered

By Kim Jae-won

A wide spectrum of people from President Lee Myung-bak, business and political leaders to employees of POSCO Tuesday gave tribute to the steel company’s Honorary Chairman Park Tae-joon who died at 84 due to lung disease.

“It is very regrettable that the great figure who contributed to our nation’s industrialization has left us,” President Lee was quoted as saying by his spokesman Park Jeong-ha.

Political parties also paid their condolences to the late businessman-turned-politician.

“No one can deny that the late Park played a critical role in establishing our country as a steel powerhouse,” said Rep. Lee Yong-sup, the chief spokesman of the main opposition Democratic Party.

The conservative minor Liberty Forward Party also issued a statement saying “We remember Park’s contribution to the nation’s development of political administration as a prime minister.”

Park served as prime minister under the Kim Dae-jung administration in 2000.

Employees of POSCO paid tribute to their former chairman and founder of the company.

“I wished he could have lived longer. I do not know how to express my sorrow,” said a worker of the company identified only by his surname Park, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Business associations and conglomerates also showed their regret over the death of Park.

“Park left a big footprint in Korea’s economic history by building a steel industry, a critical material for industrialization,” said the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) in a statement.

Samsung Group also said that the late Park contributed to the economic development as well as the steel industry, showing how a Korean company could become the best in the world.