National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik on the 25th mourned the passing of Lee Hae-chan, senior vice chair of The Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (PUAC) and former prime minister, saying, "We pay tribute to a giant of the era, Senior Vice Chair Lee."
Woo wrote on his Facebook that day, "It is hard to believe that the clear, ringing voice that worried about democracy until just recently is still vivid in my ears, yet we now face the sudden news that you have left our side."
Woo recalled being imprisoned with Senior Vice Chair Lee at Chuncheon Prison during the pro-democracy movement in 1982, and joining the Peace Democratic Party together in 1988 as members of the Research Society for Peaceful Democratic Unification during his days outside the establishment, introducing the deceased as "a comrade with whom I began the path of politics and also a senior."
He went on to say, "From the day we jumped into the field of democracy with the resolve to protect Kim Dae-jung, for 38 years we at times debated fiercely and at times embraced each other's shoulders, walking only one path of 'the people' and 'democracy.'"
He added that Lee was "the history of South Korean democracy itself," and "a person who, with the spirit of 'seeking truth from facts (實事求是),' sought answers in the field and devoted his life to setting politics right based on people's lives."
He also reflected, "You always set your gaze and steps not on the center of power but toward the most painful places in our society, where the tears of the marginalized pool, and you led the democratic reform forces in that way."
Speaker Woo said, "I will never forget the passion of our senior, who, until the very last moment, dedicated himself to peace on the Korean Peninsula as the PUAC senior vice chair," and, "It was truly an honor to be with you," mourning the deceased.