Choi Hyung-woo, a former interior minister and a core member of the political circle surrounding former President Kim Young-sam, died at 3:30 a.m. on the 24th at the Veterans Health Service Medical Center in Seoul. He was 91.
Choi took part in the pro-democracy movement alongside Kim in the 1970s and 1980s. After the civilian government took office in 1993, he backed its reform agenda with a reputation for forceful execution. Along with Kim Dong-young, a former minister of political affairs, he was known as one of Kim Young-sam's two closest aides.
Born in Ulsan in 1935, Choi graduated from Busan Technical High School and studied political science and diplomacy at Dongguk University. He served as a student representative at Dongguk during the April 19 Revolution in 1960. He entered the National Assembly in 1971, winning a seat in the Ulsan-Ulju district as a candidate for the opposition New Democratic Party in the eighth general election. He went on to serve in the 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th and 15th assemblies, reaching six terms in all.
During his first term, he used a parliamentary questioning session to disclose that President Park Chung-hee's government was planning to stay in power indefinitely through the so-called October Yushin system. He was taken to a counterintelligence facility of the Army Security Command and tortured for three months. In 1980, shortly after the new military leadership declared emergency martial law on May 17, he was again taken to the security command, endured further hardship and lost his parliamentary seat.
After being released from political activity restrictions in 1984, Choi became secretary general of the Council for the Promotion of Democracy the following year. He established himself as a leading opposition figure, serving as vice president of the New Democratic Party and as senior vice president and floor leader of the Democratic Party.
When three parties merged in 1990, he joined the Democratic Liberal Party and served as minister of political affairs. After Kim Young-sam won the presidency, Choi served as secretary general of the Democratic Liberal Party and later as interior minister. After winning a seat in the 15th general election in 1996, he was counted among the "nine dragons," the group of potential presidential contenders within the New Korea Party. He suffered a stroke in 1997 and had been in poor health for many years since.
He is survived by his wife, Won Young-il, two sons, Choi Seok-kyun and Choi Je-wan, and two daughters, Choi Eun-ji and Choi Eun-sil.
The funeral will be held under the auspices of the Korean Association of Former Members of the National Assembly and the association of April 19 Revolution contributors. According to the family, the funeral committee will be chaired by Kwon Noh-kap, chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Foundation; Kim Deog-ryong, chairman of the Kim Young Sam Democracy Center; and Chung Dae-chul, head of the former lawmakers' association. Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, were named co-chairs.
Kim Hyun-chul, Kim Young-sam's second son and chairman of the Kim Young-sam Presidential Memorial Foundation, is among those expected to visit the funeral hall. The wake is being held in Room 20 of the funeral hall at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. The procession will leave at 8 a.m. on the 27th, and burial will take place at the April 19 National Cemetery.