Prime Minister Kim Min-seok Pledges Full Effort for Repatriation of Independence Activists' Remains

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok stated on the 22nd, at the repatriation ceremony for the late independence activist Lee Ha-jeon held at the Seoul National Cemetery, that he would 'do his utmost to bring home the remains of every single individual to our homeland.' Mentioning Lee Ha-jeon, Kim conveyed, 'There are still many independence activists resting in unfamiliar lands far away.'

He added, 'Following the will of Kim Gu, the government's repatriation efforts began in 1975, and today, with the repatriation of Mr. Lee, we have brought home 156 independence activists.' Emphasizing that he would remember and carry forward the patriotic spirit and love for the nation dedicated by numerous patriotic figures to the anti-Japanese independence movement, he offered respect and tribute to the activists who resisted Japanese rule for the nation's liberation, saying, 'May you rest in peace in the embrace of the motherland you so longed for, the Republic of Korea.'

Born in Pyongyang in 1921, Lee Ha-jeon organized a secret society for independence activism in 1938 while attending Sungin Commercial High School. He was arrested by Japanese police and imprisoned in 1941 while studying in Japan. After liberation, he settled in the United States and served as the president of the Korean Patriots Association in Northern California. The oldest independence activist and the last living overseas independence activist, he passed away at his home in Sacramento, California, on February 4th of this year.