Leading S. Korean conservative dies of pneumonia

(ATTN: RECASTS lead, headline; ADDS details on career; CLARIFIES post in para 3)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- Park Seh-jik, a former soldier-turned-lawmaker who
headed South Korea's largest conservative veterans group, died of acute
pneumonia on Monday, his office said. He was 76.
Park, who was Seoul mayor from 1990-1991, "was hospitalized on June 29 after he
suffered exhaustion from work," the Korea Veterans Association (KVA) said in a
release.
The KVA claims a membership of 8 million veterans, according to its Web site.
Park, a retired army major general, was a hardliner on North Korea who had taken
several ranking posts, including the commander of the Capital Defense Command and
an aide-de-camp to a defense minister.
He headed a South Korean national committee on organizing the 1988 Seoul Olympics
and also chaired a committee for the organization of the 2002 World Cup jointly
held in South Korea and Japan.
Park, who was the head of a sports ministry in 1986, has overseen the veterans
organization since 2006. He was re-elected in April this year. He is survived by
his wife, two sons and a daughter.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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