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| The memorial altar for former lawmaker Hong Sa-duk is set up at Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, Thursday, a day after he died. Yonhap |
He had been hospitalized recently for pneumonia, according to his former aides, Thursday.
The former journalist entered politics after becoming a lawmaker in 1981 and served six terms until 2012 with both liberal and conservative parties and as an independent lawmaker. He was a deputy speaker in the 16th Assembly for about a year from June 2000.
In the presidential election in 1992, he was a spokesman of then-liberal presidential candidate Kim Dae-jung, who lost to conservative candidate Kim Young-sam. But in 1997, Hong served as a minister of politics affairs for Kim Young-sam.
After taking a National Assembly seat in 2000 under the ticket of the Grand National Party (GNP), a predecessor of the current main opposition United Future Party, he was loyal to conservative political heavyweight Park Geun-hye.
Hong once left the party in 2008 after failing to be nominated by the party for the general election, and created the Pro-Park Geun-hye Alliance with several other Park loyalists and won an Assembly seat under the new party's ticket. After the election, he returned to the GNP.
He left the party again in September 2012 amid a scandal of illegal political fund acceptance, for which he was later indicted without physical detention. After that time he had a low profile in the political arena.
Afterward, Hong took several posts including an adviser at telecom giant KT and the head of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation.
A memorial altar was set up at Seoul National University Hospital and the funeral service will be held Saturday.
He is survived by his wife, son and two daughters.
