Former President Chun returns to alumni event in 3 years

Former President Chun Doo-hwan, 84, appeared at the alumni sports event of Daegu Technical High School on Sunday.

The former president in a grey suit and a white hat visited his alma mater as an advisor. The 1951 graduate of the school and his wife, Lee Soon-ja, watched the event on a stage with bodyguards protecting them. The couple enjoyed several events such as Korean traditional board game yutnori with alumni.

He used to attend the alumni sports event in October every year, but he stopped appearing at the event from 2013. “It is an event hosted by alumni and it doesn’t matter whether the former president attends the event or not,” a source from the school said.

Whenever he came to the event, however, there was a lot of controversy. In October 2010, alumni threw his 80th birthday party and made a deep bow to him. In June 2012, the school’s alumni association held an opening event for “President Chun Doo-hwan Library” at the career center with the presence of the president and his wife. The library was later closed due to strong backlash from Daegu citizens and civic groups.

The former president had a rice soup for lunch with alumni at the school playground and went back to Seoul by KTX train. He will not join an alumni golf tournament on Monday.