By Kim Young Shin

Former U.N. Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Laureate Kofi Annan died at the age of 80 on Aug. 18.

“It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the United Nations and Nobel peace laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Aug. 18, after a short illness,” said the Kofi Annan Foundation on its Facebook profile.

Korean leaders, such as President Moon Jae-in and former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, lamented his death.

“The best way to commemorate him will be to pursue peace,” said President Moon on Twitter. “My fellow Koreans and I are all deeply saddened, like many others around the world.”

“We remember wherever there was conflict, Kofi Annan stood ready, pursuing dialogue and the path of peace,” said Moon. “He dedicated his life to building a better future for all of us. We will engrave his support for peace on the Korean Peninsula in our hearts and cherish it forever.”

Ban Ki-moon also mourned the late Nobel peace laureate, saying, “His vision and courage to keep the principle and idea of the United Nations will always be remembered and respected.”

“I offer my deepest condolences with all people of the world and my U.N. colleagues to the spouse and family members of my predecessor for his untimely death,” said Ban.

Annan was the first United Nations staff member to become U.N. secretary-general, in 1997. He was devoted to bringing about world peace, to helping the development of poorer economies, to fighting poverty and to promoting human rights.

He also became the first U.N. secretary-general in service to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, in 2001.

He was a friend of Korea, too. He was the winner of the fourth Seoul Peace Prize in 1998, and he was a supporter of the Kim Dae-jung administration’s “Sunshine Policy” toward North Korea.

Finally, The Elders, an international non-governmental organization of senior global leaders, where Annan served as chairperson, sent a letter to Cheong Wa Dae in April to praise and support the Moon Jae-in administration’s efforts to solving the North Korean nuclear weapons issues.

ysk1111@korea.kr