Seoul: Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung visited a national cemetery Monday during which he paid his respects to former presidents, marking his first official event following his nomination. Lee was accompanied by his party's top officials at the Seoul National Cemetery, where he paid tribute at the graves of former Presidents Rhee Syng-man, Park Chung-hee, Kim Young-sam, and Kim Dae-jung.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee's decision to visit the graves of Rhee and Park, widely considered a sensitive issue within the DP, is seen as a move to broaden his appeal toward centrist and conservative voters. He also visited the grave of Park Tae-joon, former chairman of POSCO and a former prime minister during the Kim Dae-jung administration.
Lee wrote a message in the guestbook that read, "A world where everyone lives together, a country where the people are happy, a Republic of Korea where the people are the protagonists -- I will make it a reality with the people." Lee, a front-runner in opinion polls for the June 3 presidential election, was elected the DP's presidential candidate on Sunday.