Adopted son of Syngman Rhee dies at age 92

Social Affairs

Published: 02 Nov. 2023, 17:17

Adopted son of Syngman Rhee dies at age 92

Photo of Rhee In-soo, adopted son of Korea's first Presiden Syngman Rhee, on the funeral altar at Severance Hospital in western Seoul on Thursday. Rhee died at the age of 92 on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

The adopted son of Korea’s first President Syngman Rhee, Rhee In-soo, died on Wednesday at the age of 92.

Seoul National University Hospital pronounced Rhee’s death at 6:53 p.m. on Wednesday.

Rhee's passing came two months after he visited the April 19 National Cemetery for the first time in September.

The April 19 National Cemetery is the final resting place of victims of the April 19 Revolution of 1960, a civil uprising against a rigged election that year.

The uprising eventually ousted Syngman Rhee, who stepped down on April 26 and fled a month later to Hawaii, where he passed away at the age of 90 on July 19, 1965.

The revolution left an estimated 186 civilians dead and 6,026 injured.

Although the younger Rhee made numerous attempts to visit the cemetery, including in 2011, relatives of the victims had asked him to stay away.

“I think my father would have been happy with my apology to the victims today,” Rhee said at a ceremony at the cemetery on Sept. 1.

Rhee In-soo was adopted by Syngman Rhee and his spouse, Francesca Donner-Rhee, in 1961, when he was 30 and when the former president was 86.

Rhee was Syngman Rhee's only surviving child.

The former president had a biological son, Lee Bong-soo, who died at the age of 6 from measles in 1904.

Rhee subsequently adopted two more sons, but one reportedly committed suicide after the April 19 revolution in 1960, and another was said to have been removed from the family registration after Rhee married Donner-Rhee.

Some scholars praise the junior Rhee for his efforts to reconcile with the families of victims killed by government forces during the April 19 Revolution.

Rhee was planning to pursue further studies in Germany when Rhee and Donner-Rhee adopted him. After his adoption, Rhee cared for his father in Hawaii during his final years.

Rhee In-soo and his wife Cho Hye-ja pay respects to victims of the April 19 Revolution of 1960, which ousted Syngman Rhee from power, at the the April 19th National Cemetery in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, on Sept. 1. [NEWS1]

His funeral will be held at Severance Hospital in western Seoul until Saturday. Rhee was scheduled to be buried at the Goesan National Cemetery in North Chungcheong.

Rhee is survived by his wife, Cho Hye-ja, whom he married three years after his father's death.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]