By Kang Hyun-kyung
Family members of President Park Geun-hye, former presidents, celebrities and athletes were among the 70,000 attendees to celebrate her historic inauguration at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday.
President Lee Myung-bak, who left office on Sunday after his five-year tenure ended, and his wife Kim Yoon-ok were present at the swearing-in event of the nation’s first female president.
Two other former presidents — Kim Young-sam and Chun Doo-hwan — also took their seats near the podium. Lee Hee-ho, the wife of the late President Kim Dae-jung, was also present at the ceremony.
Another ex-President Roh Tae-woo and Kwon Yang-sook, the wife of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, didn’t attend the event on grounds of poor health.
Park Ji-man, President Park’s brother, and his wife Seo Hyang-hee were present near the podium set aside for the new leader’s family members and relatives.
Well-known singer Eun Ji-won, a cousin of President Park, also sat there. Eun is the grandson of the late President Park Chung-hee’s elder sister.
Celebrities and athletes were also spotted. Jang Mi-ran, a retired female weightlifter and Beijing Olympic gold medalist, and Park Chan-ho, a former Major League Baseball player, attended the event.
Seok Hae-kyun, the captain of a vessel rescued from Somali pirates in January 2011 through a military operation, code-named Daybreak Gulf of Aden, was also present.
Key figures from the opposition camp didn’t show up. Rep. Moon Jae-in, who ran unsuccessfully in the December presidential election on the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) ticket, didn’t attend , citing his prio engagement in his constituency in Busan.
His aide said Moon got the invitation from the inauguration’s organizing committee earlier, but the lawmaker couldn’t make it.
The committee sent invitations to all 127 DUP lawmakers as well as their spouses. Most members were present without their spouses.
Six members of the left-leaning Unified Progressive Party (UPP) were invited and attended the inauguration ceremony. Party leader Lee Jung-hee was not invited and couldn’t attend.
The organizing committee said Lee didn’t have any official title in January when invitations were sent out and her election came too late for a separate invitation to be made.