Photo: CFP

South Korea’s central regional Coast Guard Headquarters held a farewell ceremony on Monday at Incheon Maritime Police Station for Coast Guard officer Lee Jae-suk, who died in the line of duty while rescuing a Chinese national. Zhong Hongnuo, Minister-Counselor and Consul General of the Chinese Embassy in South Korea, attended the ceremony and laid flowers to pay tribute to Lee during the farewell ceremony, China Central Television reported on Monday. 

More than 800 people, including the bereaved family and coast guard officers from across South Korea, attended the ceremony, where participants observed a moment of silence, laid flowers, and delivered eulogies. 

The South Korean coast guard authorities announced a special posthumous promotion of Incheon Coast Guard officer Lee Jae-suk by one rank and awarded him the Okjo Geunjeong Medal. Lee Jae-suk will be laid to rest at the Seoul National Cemetery. 

Zhong said that the South Korean Coast Guard officer Lee exemplified boundless love and noble humanitarian spirit with his young life. His heroic deeds of risking his life to save others will be remembered by the millions of Chinese living in Korea, and the Chinese people will not forget this precious friendship.

The central regional Coast Guard Headquarters of South Korea said that Lee was diligent and conscientious in his daily work, possessed a strong sense of responsibility, and was a model coast guard officer as well as an example to his colleagues.

According to a recent statement from the Chinese Embassy in South Korea, on September 11, the Korean Coast Guard successfully rescued a Chinese national from a shallow coastal area near Yeongheung-myeon in Ongjin County, Incheon. Lee tragically lost his life during the rescue operation. 

Global Times