By Bae Ji-sook
The funeral for two marines who were killed in a North Korean artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island, Tuesday, will be held Saturday at the Armed Forces Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The bodies will be laid to rest at the National Cemetery in Daejeon.
According to the Marine Corps, bereaved family members of the late Sgt. Seo Jeong-woo and Pvt. Moon Gwang-wuk have agreed with the military authorities to hold the funeral at the public hospital five days after their deaths.
It is to show the utmost honor to their sacrifice, the authorities said. Conventionally Korean funerals service take place on the third day after death.
The Ministry of National Defense also agreed to allow families’ a tour of the site of the attack. The talks for the funeral were on hold Wednesday, while family members demanded verification of the cause of death.
The Marine Corps said Seo was on his way to Incheon to spend his last vacation as a soldier and was getting aboard a ferry Tuesday around 2:40 p.m., when the shelling broke out. He got off the ferry and tried to return to his post but died during the mobilization procedure. Moon was verified to have been on duty preparing for a battle when he was killed by shrapnel.
The authorities decided to award two dead soldiers with posthumous promotions. The Marine Corps decided to award the Hwarang Cordon of the Order of Military Merit to the late soldiers, and a promotion of one rank each.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the two civilian construction workers who were found dead at a building site on the island, due to the attack, were moved to the nearby port city of Incheon.
After ferry services to the island resumed on Thursday morning, the bodies of the late Kim Chi-baek and Bae Bok-cheol were moved to a hospital in Incheon for forensic examination. The administration has yet decided on any further procedures for the two.
Mourners nationwide paid condolences to the young soldiers. They have visited the memorial alters at the military hospital and posted eulogies on websites.
According to the ministry, about 1,900 people have visited alters as of Thursday morning and former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama visited to pay his respects later in the afternoon. Politicians, regardless of their affiliation, also queued up to pay tribute.
In the online world, Internet users mourned the loss of the two. A netizen with the ID Shinanara said, “Thank you for saving the country and my life. Your sacrifice will be remembered for a long time,” on www.daum.net’s Agora page.
“It is heartbreaking to see such a young man at my son’s age leave the world so soon. This should never happen again,” another netizen ID: Com sarang said. The Agora page has seen more than 6,600 people leaving eulogies as of Thursday afternoon.
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