Lee Nak-yeon Pays Tribute at the Tomb of General Hong Beom-do, Hero of the Battle of Bongodong

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Lee Nak-yeon, former leader of the Democratic Party and presidential candidate, visited Daejeon National Cemetery on the 27th to pay respects at the tomb of General Hong Beom-do, whose remains were recently repatriated to Korea.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the same day, Lee visited the tomb of General Hong Beom-do, enshrined in the third burial area for independence activists at Daejeon National Cemetery. The remains of General Hong Beom-do (1868?1943), the "Hero of the Battle of Bongodong," were repatriated from Kazakhstan on Liberation Day and a tomb was established at Daejeon National Cemetery on the 18th.

After paying respects at the tomb, Lee spoke with reporters, sharing that during his time as Prime Minister, he met with high-ranking Kazakh officials who visited Korea and discussed the enshrinement of General Hong’s remains. Previously, President Moon Jae-in visited Kazakhstan and formally requested the repatriation of General Hong’s remains from the Kazakh President, which bore fruit on Liberation Day.

Lee said, "Bringing General Hong Beom-do here is a great achievement of the Republic of Korea and the Moon Jae-in administration’s veterans affairs," adding, "I believe that we must continue to find, remember, and pass down the sacrifices and dedication of every last person who served the nation."

Lee is scheduled to attend a TV debate hosted by Daejeon MBC starting at 5:30 p.m. that day. During the debate, he plans to explain his views on the development of the Chungcheong region and balanced national development, aiming to capture the votes of the Chungcheong electorate, the starting point of the Democratic Party’s regional primaries.

Earlier, Lee proposed concrete pledges such as the prompt establishment of the National Assembly’s Sejong branch, relocation of central government agencies to the Chungcheong region, and a vision to realize a Chungcheong Mega City to make it the administrative and scientific capital of Korea. To this end, he announced plans to ▲ establish a ‘Metropolitan Economic Living Zone Development Support Team’ under the Prime Minister to support the launch of the Chungcheong Mega City ▲ create ‘tuition-free universities’ at key national universities in Chungcheong by 2025 ▲ and support the joint bid of the Chungcheong region to host the 2027 Summer Universiade.

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