Park Gi-seo reported that he passed away from an illness at around 12:10 p.m. on the 10th at a hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. He was 77.
The deceased, born in Jeongeup, was working as a city bus driver for Soosin Passenger Transport when he killed Ahn Du-hee on Oct. 23, 1996, by hitting him with a 40cm long stick inscribed with 'Justice' at Ahn's home in Sinheung-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon.
He turned himself in to the police seven hours after the crime. He said, "I respected Baekbeom, so I killed Ahn Du-hee. It was a difficult thing to do, but I think it was right."
Ahn Du-hee assassinated Kim Gu with a pistol near Gyeonggyeojang (now the site of Gangbuk Samsung Hospital) in Seodaemun, Seoul, on June 26, 1949. He later revealed that he had received orders from Kim Chang-ryong. After being sentenced to life in prison and confined in the army prison, he received a reduced sentence and was released in February 1951 after receiving a pardon, returning to the army as an artillery officer.
Park was sentenced to three years in prison by the Supreme Court in November 1997, but he was released after being pardoned in March 1998 during the administration of Kim Dae-jung. He worked as a bus driver for Soosin Passenger Transport until he acquired a private taxi license in 2002 and then worked as a taxi driver in Bucheon.
In 2018, he donated 'Justice' to the Colonial History Museum in Yongsan, Seoul.
He is survived by his wife, Won Mi-ja, one son and one daughter (Park An-suk and Park Chan-jong), and son-in-law Park Gi-hoon. The funeral hall is in room 7 at Bucheon Funeral Hall, with the burial taking place at Morang Park in Namyangju at 5 a.m. on the 12th.