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South Korea to send condolence message for former U.S. President Carter's death

Published: 30 Dec. 2024, 19:32 Updated: 30 Dec. 2024, 20:16

LIM JEONG-WON
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Former President Jimmy Carter poses for a portrait during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada on Sept. 10, 2007. [AP/YONHAP]

The South Korean government will send a message to express condolences for the death of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100 on Monday.

According to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Monday, the South Korean government plans to send a condolence message under the name of Acting President Choi Sang-mok.

It is customary to send condolence messages to deceased counterparts, so if a head of a state from another country has died, it should be sent signed with the name of the head of state.

However, following the impeachments of President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the condolence message will be sent in Choi’s name.

Jimmy Carter, former U.S. president, dies at 100

“We express our deepest condolences from the Korean people,” an official from Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said. “Our government and people highly value the spirit and achievements of former President Carter and will remember them forever.

“Former President Carter devoted his life to promoting universal human values such as international peace, democracy, and human rights, and in recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002," the official continued. "He was particularly interested in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula and actively worked on it.”

The Carter Foundation announced on Monday that Carter passed away while receiving hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia.

The U.S. government will host a state funeral in Carter's honor, and his remains will be laid to rest in Plains.

Among former U.S. Presidents, Carter is considered to have a deep connection to the Korean Peninsula.

During his time in government, he raised the issue of the human rights situation in South Korea under the military regime of former President Park Chung-hee and proposed a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea as a presidential election pledge, standing in direct opposition to the Park Chung-hee regime, which protested that the move would interfere with internal affairs.

However, the Carter administration’s attempt to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea was halted when Park was suddenly assassinated amid opposition from Congress and the military.

After leaving office, Carter established his foundation, the Carter Foundation, and actively participated in resolving global conflicts, calling himself a “peace preacher.” In particular, he visited Pyongyang several times and took the lead in peace diplomacy with North Korea.

When North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1993, and the nuclear crisis escalated, he visited North Korea as a special envoy for then-President Bill Clinton and met with then-North Korean leader Kim Il-sung. Of all the former and current U.S. presidents, Carter is the only one to have met with Kim.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]