The repatriation ceremony for the remains of the late independence activist Lee Ha-jeon, who passed away in the United States in February at the age of 104, will be held. According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on the 20th, the ceremony will take place at the Memorial Plaza of the National Cemetery in Seoul on the 22nd. Attendees will include around 450 people, including the families of independence activists, government officials, and members of the Liberation Association. The ceremony will last about an hour and will include an introduction of his achievements, a commemorative performance, and the transportation of his remains.
Lee Ha-jeon’s remains are expected to arrive in Korea on the 21st at Incheon International Airport, where Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul will personally receive them. The remains will then be transferred to the Daejeon National Cemetery, where he will be laid to rest next to his spouse.
Born in Pyongyang in 1921, Lee organized a secret independence group while attending Soongin Commercial School in 1938. He was arrested by Japanese police while studying in Japan in 1941 and served two and a half years in prison. After liberation, he moved to the U.S. for studies and settled there, eventually becoming the head of the Northern California chapter of the Liberation Association. He received the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1990.
The repatriation of overseas independence activists’ remains to Korea began in 1946 with Kim Gu’s arrangement for activists like Yun Bong-gil, Lee Bong-chang, and Baek Jeong-gi and has since totaled 156 individuals with Lee’s ceremony.