On May 23, I saw shocking news on the Internet. It was the news about the death of former president of Korea, Roh Moo-hyun. Furthermore, the press reported that he committed suicide because of the stress from the excessive investigation by the prosecution. At that time, he was suspected of bribery.
Before Roh Moo-hyun was president, many presidents were often suspected of bribery after they retired. Therefore, the suspicion of the former president was not a surprising case to me. I was just disappointed because I had an image that he was an upright man. After the news about the suspicion was reported, I saw the news about the process of the investigation of the case.
During the investigation, Roh Moo-hyun, the former president, was recalled several times. I thought it was not a right way to investigate, considering he was president. If the officials of the investigation had considered proper etiquette toward the former president, they would not have done that. Some people, who thought the same as me, thought that the excessive investigation by the prosecution drove him to suicide.
At the funeral of Roh Moo-hyun, proper etiquette also was not considered. The funeral service was held as a public funeral. It reflected his familiar figure during his lifetime. Many people cherished memories about him. However, police officers were also at the funeral services. Those figures were improper for the grave atmosphere. The officers worried about the possibility of a demonstration. Therefore, they surrounded the place for the funeral and forbade the public visitation. The place was a memorial of the former president. I thought that obstructing the passage of visiting people was not a good decision because it was not proper etiquette toward the former president.
In fact, I think the decision of Roh Moo-hyun to commit suicide was wrong. His choice was not a solution for the suspicion. He should have selected the way of resolving the suspicion, not suicide. However, the prosecution should have been more considerate of the former president. Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. I think they forgot that fact.
The former president, Roh Moo-hyun, is deceased, but many people will remember his figure bowing his head to the public, not bowing to the high-ranking officials in other countries. Although his death made people sad, it reflected the problem of Korean politics. We have to try to change the reality of Korean politics to prevent events like this sad case.