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The funeral ceremony of Park Tae-joon, founder of POSCO and former prime minister, is held at the Seoul National Cemetery on Saturday. (Yonhap News) |
Park Tae-joon, the late founder and honorary chairman of South Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO, was buried at the country’s National Cemetery in Seoul on Saturday.
The funeral service was attended by over 600 people, including top political and government figures such as National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae and Commerce Minister Hong Suk-woo.
Park died Tuesday of lung complications. He was 84 years old.
Born in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, in 1927, the late Park was considered a pioneer for the country’s steel industry as he helped build Pohang Iron & Steel Co., POSCO’s predecessor, in the southeastern port city of Pohang.
The company began production in 1972, four years after its foundation in April 1968. It is now the world’s third-largest steelmaker in terms of crude steel output.
Park served four terms as a legislator and also as a prime minister in 2000.
Park’s burial at the National Cemetery, usually reserved for war veterans and former heads of state, was granted for his service and contribution to the country, a government commission organizing the funeral earlier said.
(Yonhap News)
