Martin Uden

In Remembrance of President Roh Moo-hyun

I first heard about President Roh’s death when my wife telephoned me minutes after it was announced on Saturday morning.  She was in Namdaemun market and she said an eerie quiet was descending over the entire market as people got messages on their cell phones and then rushed to watch the nearest TV.  The sense of shock was almost palpable.  Whatever problems he was facing, his apparent suicide (and the TV news on Saturday morning vacillated for some time as to how to describe it) left people stunned.

Both HM The Queen and Gordon Brown sent condolence messages quickly over the weekend.  President Roh’s visit to London in 2004 was in fact the first ever State Visit by the President of the Republic of Korea to the UK and was a real (and overdue) milestone in the relationship between the two countries.  For the Embassy as a whole, there was another personal feeling of loss since the President’s daughter, Jeong-yeon, worked here before her father was elected.  Our hearts go out to the entire family.

(Photo: HM The Queen and former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 State Visit to the UK)

Posted at 11:29 25 May 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[2]