Former South Korean president Choi Kyu-hah dies
{{date|October 26, 2006}}

Former [[South Korea]]n President {{w|Choi Kyu-hah}} died in Seoul on October 22, 2006. He was 87 years old.

Choi was found unconscious in his home by a nurse at 6 a.m. local time ({{w|UTC}}+9) on Sunday morning and was rushed to Seoul National University Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead at 7:37 a.m. Doctors said that he died from acute heart failure.

Choi became acting President after then-President {{w|Park Chung Hee}} was assassinated on October 26, 1979. He was officially sworn as the 10th President in December of the same year following a military coup, but resigned that post on August 16, 1980. After his resignation, he refused to discuss the coup in much detail.

Born in Wonju, Gangwon Province, on July 16, 1919, Choi was a graduate in English language and literature from Tokyo Teachers College and worked as a professor at the Teachers College of Seoul National University for a short time after the end of Japanese rule in Korea in 1945. He entered politics in 1946 and served as foreign minister from 1967 to 1975 and prime minister from 1975 to 1979.

Choi was buried in Daejeon National Cemetery after a state funeral. His wife, Hong Gi, died in 2004 but her remains were exhumed from the current burial site in Wonju and buried next to those of her husband.

== Sources ==

*{{source|url=http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200610/kt2006102617521768040.htm
|title=State Funeral for Former President Held
|author=Bae Ji-sook
|pub=The Korea Times
|date=October 26, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/10/24/200610240032.asp
|title=State funeral planned for Choi
|author=
|pub=The Korea Herald 
|date=October 24, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200610/200610230013.html
|title=Former President Choi Kyu-hah Dies 
|author=
|pub=Digital Chosun Ilbo
|date=October 23, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200610/kt2006102317363711980.htm
|title=State Funeral for Choi Due Thursday
|author=Ryu Jin
|pub=The Korea Times
|date=October 23, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/166468.html
|title=Former President Choi Kyu-hah dies at age 88
|author=
|pub=The Hankyoreh
|date=October 22, 2006}}

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{{Archived}}
[[Category:Obituaries]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:South Korea]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Korean Peninsula]]
Former South Korean President  died in Seoul on October 22, 2006. He was 87 years old.

Choi was found unconscious in his home by a nurse at 6 a.m. local time (+9) on Sunday morning and was rushed to Seoul National University Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead at 7:37 a.m. Doctors said that he died from acute heart failure.

Choi became acting President after then-President  was assassinated on October 26, 1979. He was officially sworn as the 10th President in December of the same year following a military coup, but resigned that post on August 16, 1980. After his resignation, he refused to discuss the coup in much detail.

Born in Wonju, Gangwon Province, on July 16, 1919, Choi was a graduate in English language and literature from Tokyo Teachers College and worked as a professor at the Teachers College of Seoul National University for a short time after the end of Japanese rule in Korea in 1945. He entered politics in 1946 and served as foreign minister from 1967 to 1975 and prime minister from 1975 to 1979.

Choi was buried in Daejeon National Cemetery after a state funeral. His wife, Hong Gi, died in 2004 but her remains were exhumed from the current burial site in Wonju and buried next to those of her husband.
Obituaries Politics and conflicts South Korea Asia Korean Peninsula