By Kim Tong-hyung
Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Seok-dong and Korea Development Bank (KDB) Chairman Kang Man-soo were among the financial-sector bigwigs who paid their last respects to the mother of KB Financial Chairman Euh Yoon-dae at a low-key funeral in Seoul.
The 92-year-old Cho Mal-mi, who died Friday, was laid to rest at her hometown of Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday, following a small funeral at the Korea University Hospital in Seoul the day before.
Euh ensured that the funeral stayed private by not issuing an obituary notice, KB officials said. His planning of a quiet memorial service for his mother was a departure from how high-profile figures usually arrange family ceremonies, as seen in lavish funerals where journalists, cameramen and mourners compete to outnumber each other.
Euh, a financial industry veteran who was also the president of Korea University between 2003 and 2006, was known for his particularly close relationship with his mother, living with her under the same roof until her death.
“Since the burial site was in Jinhae, the family didn’t complete the traditional three-day funeral and left the hospital at dawn Sunday. Euh wanted a small, private memorial service and there weren’t many visitors,” said a KB Financial spokesman.
KB Financial Group President Lim Young-rok and KB Kookmin Bank President Min Byong-deok were among the few KB executives notified about Cho’s death, he said.
Woori Financial Chairman Lee Pal-seung, Shinhan Financial Chairman Han Dong-woo and Democratic United Party (DUP) lawmaker Chung Se-kyun also attended Cho’s funeral, while President Lee Myung-bak sent flowers.