Korea’s local office chiefs enjoy old-fashioned prestige

A public memorial for late Seoul mayor Park Won-soon, in Seoul on July 11,2020. The mayor of Seoul, a contender to be South Korea's next president and a former human rights lawyer, took his own life a day after he was accused of sexual harassment, authorities said. — AFP

SOUTH Koreans bid farewell to two prominent people last week amidst noises about the mixture of respect and scorn shown in accordance with the people’s ideological divide.

Half a million citizens petitioned the Presidential Office opposing Seoul City Hall sponsoring Park Won-soon's funeral at the expense of taxpayers’ money.