Bereaved Family of Kim Jae-kyu Remain Silent

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Bereaved Family of Kim Jae-kyu Remain Silent

'I can't say whether my son was a hero or a criminal. But it is certain that he was a very dutiful son.'
The 96-year-old mother of Kim Jae-kyu, who assassinated Former President Park Chung-hee 20 years ago, Kwon Yoo-keum, recently spoke at the same house in Tongsomun-dong, Seoul, where she lived with her son.
On October 26, 1979, her son, who was the chief of the Central Information Agency, shot President Park and Park's bodyguards, while drinking with the president. Although many years have passed since Kim was executed, shouting, 'I shot the heart of the dictatorship regime', the bereaved family of Kim still remain silent.
Kim's mother Kwon still lives in the old Korean traditional house with her daughter. Kim's wife visits her a couple of times a month with her son, Kim Young-kyu, who is a colonel. Once in a while they visit Kim's graveyard in Kwangju, Kyonggi Province.
The nephew of Kim, Kim Seung-soo, said, 'We don't want to be reminded of the painful memory. All the family members have lost their will to say anything after 20 years of suffering.'
Kang Joo-an : jooan@joongang.co.kr
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