South Korea had an official ceremony Tuesday to commemorate former President Kim Dae-jung, who died 11 years ago, with senior government officials and ruling and opposition party leaders in attendance.

The memorial service was held at Seoul National Cemetery in Seoul, where he is entombed, as the country is struggling to curb the rapid spread of the new coronavirus cases.

Participating dignitaries included Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun; National Assembly Speaker Rep. Park Byeong-seug; Lee Hae-chan, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party; and Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the main opposition United Future Party.

This year's memorial service for Kim, who served as the nation's president from 1998-2003 and received the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to improve inter-Korean relations under the "sunshine policy," was open to a limited number of invitees due to virus concerns.

Politicians present at the ceremony remained masked while being seated apart at arm's length from one another throughout the event.

The National Assembly speaker paid tribute to Kim's dedication as a leading figure behind South Korea's hard-won democratization as well as the national leader who helped lead the country out of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

"Eleven years after his death, history holds the president's excellent leadership in reverence ... even more than while he was alive," Park noted. (Yonhap)