Former Unification Minister Huh Moon-do passes away

A mourner pays respects to the late Huh Moon-do, who served in core government positions during the Chun Doo-hwan government in the 1980s, at a memorial altar set up at the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Gyeonggi Province, Monday. / Yonhap

By Kim Ji-soo

Former Unification Minister Huh Moon-do passed away Saturday. He was 76.

Born in Goseong, South Gyeongsang Province, Huh graduated from Seoul National University as an agricultural major and studied sociology at the Tokyo University’s graduated school. He joined the conservative vernacular Chosun Ilbo in 1964, where he worked as its Tokyo correspondent.

Then he was tapped in 1980 by the government of Chun Doo-hwan, a former military strongman, to work as chief secretary to the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, the predecessor of the National Intelligence Service. He then went on to serve in various government roles such as deputy minister for culture, presidential secretary for political affairs and the Unification Minister.

But Huh is known for his central role of forcibly integrating press units in Chun’s government. The then-authoritarian government in November 1980 streamlined 64 press companies into 14 newspapers, three networks and one wire agency in November 1980. The measure led to massive firing of journalists.

In 2010, a special government committee ruled that the streamlining of the press companies in 1980 was the former military-strongmen-turned government’s attempt to solidify power.

After Chun stepped down, Huh was questioned by the prosecution but was not persecuted. In 199, he was briefly appointed to head the Buddhist Broadcasting System. The union’s protest led him to step down after six months.

He is survived by his wife Lee Soo-gyeong, and two sons and one daughter. The funeral is set for Tuesday.