Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Domestic dignitaries reveal Korea's turbulent modern history
Outgoing President Moon Jae-in, left, and his wife Kim Jung-sook attend President Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly on Seoul's Yeouido, Tuesday. Former President Park Geun-hye, right, is seated behind Moon. Yonhap
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
President Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration ceremony held at the National Assembly on Seoul's Yeouido was graced by a handful of domestic dignitaries who have witnessed the ups and downs of Korea's modern history, including former presidents and their family members.
Outgoing President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, who left Cheong Wa Dae Monday as the presidential office opened to the public on Tuesday, was on stage as the new president was inaugurated.
When Yoon entered the stage for the inauguration ceremony, he first greeted outgoing President Moon and then he moved to welcome former President Park Geun-hye, who was in the first row of honored guests, right behind Moon.
Park was released on Dec. 31 on a special pardon. Starting in March 2017, Park spent four years and nine months behind bars after being impeached on corruption charges. Park was sentenced to 22 years of imprisonment over a far-reaching corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving one of her confidants.
The relationship between Yoon and Park dates back to 2016 when Yoon led the special prosecution team investigating the scandal that led to Park's impeachment. Yoon has repeatedly stated his wishes to visit Park, saying he feels "great sorrow" for the investigation on a political and emotional level, although he was doing his job as a prosecutor.
On April 12, Yoon visited Park at her new residence in Daegu after her release from the hospital in late March and invited her to the inauguration ceremony, hoping to patch things up with his conservative predecessor.
Park and Moon were the only former presidents who was able to take part in the ceremony.
Former President Lee Myung-bak, who was in office from 2008 to 2013, is serving a 17-year prison term for embezzlement and bribery. His wife Kim Yoon-ok attended the event instead.
Kwon Yang-sook, the widow of former President Roh Moo-hyun who killed himself in 2009, did not attend the ceremony for health reasons.
Other family members of former presidents who attended the ceremony included Lee Soon-ja, the widow of Chun Doo-hwan, and Roh Tae-woo's children Jae-heon and Soh-yeong.
Chun, who died last November, is known as Korea's last dictator as he seized power through a coup and brutally suppressed the people's cries for democratization, most famously resulting in the Gwangju Massacre of May 1980. Lee Myung-bak had officially apologized for the "pains and scars" inflicted by Chun after his death, but it did not come with any further action for victims.
Roh Tae-woo, who also passed away last year, left a mixed legacy, as he hosted large international events such as the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and broadened Korea's external relations toward Russia and China, but was criticized for his part in suppressing pro-democracy movements under Chun's rule.
Kim Hyun-chul, the second son of late President Kim Young-sam, who heads the Kim Young Sam Center for Democracy, and former Rep. Kim Hong-up, the second son of the late former President Kim Dae-jung, were also seated in the honored guests section as well.