The widow of South Korea's last military dictator issued a brief apology over the 'pains and scars' caused by her husband's brutal rule.
Dozens of relatives and former aides gathered at a Seoul hospital on Saturday to pay their final respects to Chun Doo-hwan who died age 90 on Tuesday.
Chun's widow, Lee Soon-ja, offered a 'deep apology' for the 'pains and scars' on behalf of the family as the five-day funeral procession came to a close yesterday.
Without specifying Chun's misdeeds, she said: 'As we wrap up the funeral procession today, I would like to offer a deep apology on behalf of our family toward the people who suffered pains and scars during my husband's time in office.'
Chun took power in a 1979 coup and violently crushed pro-democracy protests a year later, before being jailed for treason in the 1990s.
Lee Soon-ja, wife of former President Chun Doo-hwan, enters the funeral home for her husband at Severance Hospital in Seoul, South Korea
Chun's family held a funeral service at Seoul's Severance Hospital before taking his remains to a memorial park for cremation.
During the service at the hospital, widow Lee Soon-ja said that her husband had wished to be cremated and that his ashes be spread in border areas near North Korea.
Chun never apologized for his atrocities, which included overseeing a massacre of hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in the southern city of Gwangju in 1980.
This one of the darkest moments in the country's modern history, which came as he attempted to solidify his rule following the coup.
Cho Jin-tae, a senior official at a foundation representing Gwangju victims, said Lee's vague expression of remorse rang hollow.
He called for Chun's family to back her words with action, including cooperating with truth-finding efforts into Chun's major wrongdoings.
'I don't think anyone will be consoled by Lee Soon-ja's comments today,' Cho told The Associated Press.
Chun was an army major general when he seized power in December 1979 with his military cronies, including Roh Tae-woo, who later succeeded Chun as president after winning the country's first democratic election in decades.
The two died nearly an exact month apart, with Roh's death coming on Oct. 26.
Widow Lee, centre, watches the coffin containing her husband's body
While Roh was given a state funeral, there has been much less sympathy for Chun, who had been nicknamed
