Czech human rights leader Vaclav Havel is to be honored at an event in Seoul on Jan. 6. The event will be held in the city’s Jongno-gu area at 2 p.m.

Havel was the last Czechoslovak president from 1989-1992 and the first president of the Czech Republic from 1993-2003. He passed away on Dec. 18 at the age of 75.

As well as being a political leader, Havel was considered an international symbol for the protection of human rights and democracy.

He was one of the leading dissidents of the Velvet Revolution, which brought the communist regime in Czechoslovakia to an end in 1989.

He had long-standing contacts with South Korea and was seen as one of the most prominent and vocal critics of North Korea among world leaders.

He repeatedly criticized the Pyongyang government for holding people without due process of law in political prison camps as well as for “committing crimes against humanity against its own people.”

He was also a founding member and architect of Czech human rights declaration Charter 77, which celebrates its 35th anniversary on the day of his memorial tribute in Seoul.

Friday’s event will honor Havel’s life-long dedication to human liberties and support for oppressed people and dissidents’ movements around the world.

It has been organized by Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, The April Society and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Seoul.

It will be held at the 4.19 Revolution Library Auditorium located near Seodaemun Subway Station’s Exit 4.

For more information, contact the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights at citizens.nkhr2@gmail.com.