S. Korean Mourned 20 Yrs after Death from Trying to Save Japanese Man

Tokyo, Jan. 26 (Jiji Press)--A memorial service for a student from South Korea was held in Tokyo on Tuesday, 20 years after the brave man died as he tried to rescue a Japanese man who fell onto the tracks at a train station in the Japanese capital. In the incident, which occurred on Jan. 26, 2001, Lee Soo-hyun, then 26, was hit by a train and killed at Shin-Okubo Station of East Japan Railway Co.'s <9020> Yamanote Line in Shinjuku Ward. Lee and the Japanese man were not acquainted with each other. In a video message sent for the ceremony, held near the station, South Korean Ambassador to Japan Kang Chang-il expressed his hopes that people's wishes for improved ties and lessons learned from the noble way of life of Lee, who served as a bridge between the two neighboring countries, "will lead to a better South Korea-Japan relationship." The current relations between Japan and South Korea are "far from what the deceased man had imagined," said the new ambassador, who is now quarantining himself against the new coronavirus after he arrived in Japan last Friday. "We may have forgotten the message the 26-year-old young man sent," Kang added. Ahead of the memorial service, a South Korean diplomat laid flowers for Lee at Shin-Okubo Station. Flower wreaths from South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Lee Nak-yon, leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. were displayed at the venue of the memorial service. Lee's parents founded a scholarship organization in 2002 using condolence money they received for their loss. Lee's mother, Shin Yoon-chan, who was unable to visit Japan due to the virus crisis, expressed her gratitude, saying that she is really happy to be able to run a project that allows her to entrust her son's dream to others while feeling close to Japan. END