Moon mourns passing of former first lady Lee Hee-ho

HELSINKI, June 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that South Korea has lost another "great person," referring to the death of Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung.

Moon posted twitter and Facebook messages immediately after the news of Lee's passing, while visiting Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

"We are today seeing off a great person who has lived for women throughout her life," the president said.

Lee was the first generation female activist in South Korea, having dedicated herself to campaigns for women's rights.

She had been with President Kim Dae-jung in his pro-democracy movement and played a lot of role in the Kim administration's creation of the presidential commission on women's affairs, later reorganized as the ministry of gender equality, according to Moon.

Lee died at 96 at a Seoul hospital after battling liver cancer.

Her husband is best remembered for his "sunshine" policy of engagement with North Korea that led to the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000. Kim received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts later in the year.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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