An Hee-jung's Mother's Passing: Political Circles Continue Afternoon Condolences... An Hee-jung Says "I'm Sorry" to Each Visitor

Democratic Party Lawmakers Including Lee Hae-chan Visit Funeral Hall
Park Young-sun, Choo Mi-ae, Moon Jung-in Also Pay Respects
Tears Shed as Mentor Professor Choi Jang-jip Arrives

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] The day after the passing of former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung's mother, condolences from political figures continued into the afternoon. Ahn, who was temporarily released from prison, stayed at the funeral hall from 3 a.m. on the 6th. He expressed his apologies to every visitor who came to pay their respects. Ahn was sentenced by the Supreme Court to 3 years and 6 months in prison for sexually assaulting and molesting his personal secretary.

Former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, who was temporarily released after the prosecution accepted his request for suspension of sentence execution, is greeting Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Nak-yeon at the funeral hall set up for his mother at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 6th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

That afternoon, at the funeral hall of Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, visits continued from Democratic Party lawmakers including Kim Tae-nyeon, Kim Min-seok, Lee Won-wook, Kim Sung-joo, Hong Young-pyo, Song Gap-seok, Jo Jung-sik, Roh Woong-rae, and Kang Byung-won. After paying his respects, Representative Song told reporters, “Given his situation, he probably couldn’t see his mother before she passed, so the grief must have been great,” adding, “I told him to pull himself together and stay strong.”

Representative Lee, who is a senior and junior alumnus of Korea University with former Governor Ahn, said, “I told him to stay strong, and Ahn said he was sorry. Wouldn’t he feel sorry given his own circumstances?” Representative Jo also said, “(Ahn) expressed many apologies to others who came to pay respects.”

Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited the funeral hall set up for the late mother of former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 6th, and is seen leaving after paying his respects. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan visited the funeral hall around 1:51 p.m. with senior party spokesperson Kang Hoon-sik. Kang told reporters, “(Leader Lee) asked general questions about how prison life was and how much time was left. There was nothing special to report,” adding, “Ahn said he has about two years remaining.”

Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, and Presidential Special Advisor for Unification, Diplomacy, and Security Moon Jeong-in also paid their respects. Minister Park said, “(Ahn) has lost a lot of weight,” and “He expressed many apologies to me.” Minister Choo, who visited the funeral hall around 4 p.m., did not respond to reporters’ questions and left after paying respects. Ahn also shed tears when receiving condolences from his mentor, Professor Emeritus Choi Jang-jip of Korea University.

Among opposition figures, former Future Korea Party leader Won Yoo-chul visited the funeral hall. After paying respects around 3:15 p.m., Won explained the reason for his visit, saying, “When I was chairman of the National Defense Committee and floor leader of the Saenuri Party, I had many bipartisan discussions with former Governor Ahn, who was then governor of Chungnam.”

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Nak-yeon is leaving after paying respects at the funeral hall for the late mother of former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, set up at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 6th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Earlier that morning, former National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, Democratic Party lawmakers Lee Nak-yeon, Kim Yoon-duk, Oh Young-hoon, and Buddhist monk Beopryun also visited the funeral hall. Representative Lee said, “I offered my condolences, saying that they must be deeply grieving.”

Former Governor Ahn was indicted without detention in April 2018 on charges of sexually assaulting and molesting his personal secretary using his authority from July 2017 to February 2018. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s ruling in September last year, and Ahn is currently serving his sentence at Gwangju Prison. The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office has decided to grant Ahn a suspension of sentence execution until 5 p.m. on the 9th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.