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S.Korea accords state funeral to former president Kim Young-sam

Xinhua, November 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

South Korea on Thursday accorded a state funeral to former President Kim Young-sam who died of heart failure four days ago.

The black hearse, carrying the coffin of Kim, left the Seoul National University Hospital, where he was admitted on Friday with a fever and passed away on Sunday, at about 1 p.m. local time (0400GMT) earlier than scheduled.

President Park Geun-hye made a visit to the hospital to see off the dead and condole the bereaved families. Park refrained from going to the official funeral ceremony because of a severe cold.

The funeral car cut across downtown Seoul to enter the National Assembly building at about 2 p.m. for an official funeral ceremony that ran for 80 minutes.

The coffin is scheduled to be moved to the Seoul National Cemetery to rest in peace after a burial ceremony.

In the past four days, more than 160,000 people paid respect at about 220 memorial altars nationwide, mourning the death of Kim who played a major role in the country's transition from dictatorship to democracy. Enditem