Former fishery minister dies at 84

Chung Sang-cheon

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Chung Sang-cheon, a former ocean and fishery minister under the Kim Dae-jung administration, died of a chronic ailment Wednesday, according to his family. He was 84.

Chung was survived by his wife, one daughter and two sons. A memorial altar has been set up at the Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul. The funeral is scheduled at seven on Saturday.

Born in 1931 in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Chung majored in law at Pusan National University. He joined the police after passing the civil service exam. He became a director of the public security bureau in the Ministry of Home Affairs at the age of 39.

He then served various governmental posts including Gangwon Province governor and Seoul mayor in his 40s.

Chung entered politics in 1992 as he was elected lawmaker at Jung-gu, Busan. Later, he joined the conservative United Liberal Democrats, which was led by then Prime Minster Kim Jong-pil, and became a lawmaker again under the proportional representation system in 1996.

Chung then became ocean and fishery minister in 1999. He was praised for his effort to help fishermen financially after failed negotiations to revise the Korean-Japanese Fisheries Agreement during his term.