Kim Dae-jung

Kim Dae-jung (Korean: 김대중; Hanja: 金大中; Korean pronunciation: [kim.dɛ.dʑuŋ]; 6 January 1924 – 18 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and statesman who served as President of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea and Japan. He had been nominated every year since 1987.[2] He was sometimes referred to as "the Nelson Mandela of Asia".[3] Kim was the first opposition candidate to win the presidency, ending 50 years of conservative rule.

"Kim Dae-joong" redirects here. For the South Korean footballer, see Kim Dae-joong (footballer).

This is a Korean name; the family name is Kim.

His Excellency

Kim Dae-jung

Olympic Order
김대중(金大中)
Kim in 2001
8th President of South Korea
In office
25 February 1998 – 24 February 2003
Prime MinisterKim Jong-pil
Park Tae-joon
Lee Han-dong
Chang Sang
Chang Dae-whan
Kim Suk-soo
Preceded byKim Young-sam
Succeeded byRoh Moo-hyun
President of the Millennium Democratic Party
In office
20 January 2000 – 8 November 2001
Preceded byPosition established (as President of the National Congress for New Politics)
Succeeded byHan Kwang-ok (acting)
President of the National Congress for New Politics
In office
5 September 1995 – 20 January 2000
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished (as President of the Millennium Democratic Party)
Member of the National Assembly
In office
30 May 1988 – 19 December 1992
ConstituencyProportional Representation
In office
1 July 1971 – 17 October 1972
ConstituencyProportional Representation
In office
17 December 1963 – 30 June 1971
ConstituencyMokpo (South Jeolla)
In office
14 May 1961 – 16 May 1961
ConstituencyInje (Gangwon)
Personal details
Born(1924-01-06)6 January 1924
Hauido, Japanese Korea
Died18 August 2009(2009-08-18) (aged 85)
Seoul, South Korea
Resting placeSeoul National Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Cha Yong-ae
​
(
m. 1945; died 1959)

(
m. 1962)
Children4
EducationMokpo Commercial High School
AwardsNobel Peace Prize (2000)
Philadelphia Liberty Medal (1999)
ReligionRoman Catholic(Christian Name : Thomas More)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance South Korea
Branch/service Republic of Korea Navy
RankSublieutenant
Kim Dae-jung or Kim Dae Jung
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGim Dae(-)jung
McCune–ReischauerKim Taejung
Pen name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationHugwang[1]
McCune–ReischauerHugwang

Early life

Kim Dae-Jung was born on 6 January 1924,[4] but he later edited his birth date to 3 December 1925 to avoid conscription under Japanese colonial rule. Kim was the second of seven children. Kim was born in Sinan in what was then the Jeolla province; the city is now in Jeollanam-do. Kim's family had moved to the nearby port city of Mokpo so that he could finish high school. He had to change his name to Japanese Toyota Taichū (豊田大中), because Japan had conducted name-changing program from Korean names to Japanese names, during the Japanese colonial period.

Kim graduated from Mokpo Commercial Middle School in 1943, and then he worked as a clerk at a Japanese-managed shipping company. And after the Korean Liberation, he was elected its manager. During the Korean War Kim was imprisoned by a capture of the North Korean communist and he escaped in the retreating communist.[5] He restarted and expanded business, in the meantime he suffered cruel Korean War and witnessed the country's absurdities.

Entry to Politics

Kim disposed his business, and entered politics in earnest from Mokpo in 1954 during the administration of Korea's first president, Syngman Rhee. From 1954 to 1960, he was defeated 4 times in an election. Although he was elected as a representative for the National Assembly in May 14, 2 days later Park Chung-hee seized power in May 16 coup , who later assumed dictatorial powers, voided the elections.[5] He was able to win a seat in the House in the subsequent elections in 1963 and 1967 and went on to become an eminent opposition leader. As such, he was the natural opposition candidate for the country's presidential election in 1971. He nearly defeated Park, despite several handicaps on his candidacy which were imposed by the ruling regime.[6]

A very talented orator, Kim could command unwavering loyalty among his supporters. His staunchest support came from the Jeolla region, where he reliably garnered upwards of 95% of the popular vote, a record that has remained unsurpassed in South Korean politics.

While campaigning for legislative elections in 1971 (a month after the presidential election), a truck turned directly into the path of his car, seriously injuring him and his two aides. He was left with a permanent limp for the rest of his life. It was suspected that the collision was an assassination attempt by the Park regime.[7]

Kidnapping by KCIA
Main article: Kidnapping of Kim Dae-jung

Kim was almost killed in August 1973, when he was kidnapped from a hotel in Tokyo by KCIA agents in response to his criticism of President Park's yushin program, which granted near-dictatorial powers. Years later, Kim reflected on these events during his 2000 Nobel Peace Prize lecture:

I have lived, and continue to live, in the belief that God is always with me. I know this from experience. In August of 1973, while exiled in Japan, I was kidnapped from my hotel room in Tokyo by intelligence agents of the then military government of South Korea. The news of the incident startled the world. The agents took me to their boat at anchor along the seashore. They tied me up, blinded me, and stuffed my mouth. Just when they were about to throw me overboard, Jesus Christ appeared before me with such clarity. I clung to him and begged him to save me. At that very moment, an airplane was sent down from Heavens by the almighty God Himself to rescue me from the moment of death.

— Kim Dae-jung[8]

Philip Habib, the US ambassador in Seoul, had interceded for him with the South Korean government.[9]

Although Kim returned to South Korea, he was banned from politics and imprisoned in 1976 for having participated in the proclamation of an anti-government manifesto and sentenced for five years in prison, which was reduced to house arrest in 1978.[6] During this period, he was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.[10]

Kim had his political rights restored in 1979 after Park was assassinated.

Death sentence and exile

In 1980, Kim was arrested and sentenced to death on charges of sedition and conspiracy in the wake of another coup by Chun Doo-hwan and a popular uprising in Gwangju, his political stronghold.[11]

Pope John Paul II sent a letter to then-South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan on 11 December 1980, asking for clemency for Kim, a Catholic,[12] and with the intervention of the United States government,[13] the sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison.

He was given exile in the U.S. and temporarily settled in Boston and taught at Harvard University as a visiting professor to the Center for International Affairs.[14] During his period abroad, he authored a number of opinion pieces in leading western newspapers that were sharply critical of the South Korean government. On 30 March 1983, Kim presented a speech on human rights and democracy at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and accepted an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the institution. Two years later, in 1985, he returned to his homeland.

Road to the presidency from 1987 to 1997

Kim was again put under house arrest upon his return to Seoul, but resumed his role as one of the principal leaders of the opposition. When Chun Doo-hwan succumbed to the popular demands in 1987 and allowed the country's first honest presidential election, Kim Dae-jung and the other leading opposition figure, Kim Young-sam, initially promised to unite behind one candidate. However, due to a dispute between the two men, Kim Dae-jung split off from the main opposition party, the Reunification Democratic Party, and formed the Peace Democratic Party to run for the presidency. As a result, the opposition vote was split in two, and ex-general Roh Tae-woo – Chun Doo-hwan's hand-picked successor – won with only 36.5% of the popular vote. Kim Young-sam receiving 28% and Kim Dae-jung 27% of the vote.

In 1992, Kim made yet another failed bid for the presidency, this time solely against Kim Young-sam, who had merged the RDP with the ruling Democratic Justice Party to form the Democratic Liberal Party (which eventually became the Grand National Party).[5] Many thought Kim Dae-jung's political career was effectively over when he took a hiatus from politics and departed for the United Kingdom to take a position at Clare Hall, Cambridge University as a visiting scholar.[14] However, in 1995 he announced his return to politics and began his fourth quest for the presidency.

The situation became favorable for him when the public revolted against the incumbent government in the wake of the nation's economic collapse in the Asian financial crisis just weeks before the presidential election. Allied with Kim Jong-pil, he defeated Lee Hoi-chang, Kim Young-sam's designated successor, in the election held on 18 December 1997. When he was sworn in as the eighth President of South Korea on 25 February 1998, it marked the first time in Korean history that the ruling party peacefully transferred power to a democratically elected opposition victor.[5][15] The election was marred with controversy, as two candidates from the ruling party split the conservative vote (38.7% and 19.2% respectively), enabling Kim to win with only 40.3% of the popular vote.[16] Kim's chief opponent, Lee Hoi-chang, was a former Supreme Court Justice and had graduated at the top of his class from Seoul National University School of Law. Lee was widely viewed as elitist and his candidacy was further damaged by charges that his sons dodged mandatory military service. Kim's education in contrast was limited to vocational high school, and many Koreans sympathized with the many trials and tribulations that Kim had endured previously. In 1997, the "North Winds" scandal involving lawmakers of Lee Hoi-chan's party, met with North Korean agents in Beijing; in exchange for bribes, the North would instigate a skirmish on the DMZ right before the presidential election that would cause a panic in attempt to hamper Kim Dae-jung's campaign.[17][18][19] Lee's colleagues were later prosecuted.[20]

The preceding presidents Park Chung-hee, Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, and Kim Young-sam originated from the Gyeongsang region, which became wealthier since 1945 partly due to the policies of the Park, Chun and Roh's regimes. Kim Dae-jung was the first president to serve out his full term who came from the Jeolla region in the southwest, an area that had been neglected and less developed, at least partly because of discriminatory policies of previous presidents. Kim's administration included more individuals from Jeolla province, leading to charges of reverse discrimination. However, the actual numbers of the ministers and administrators of Kim Dae Jung's government from Jeolla region indicate that they were not over-represented.

Presidency term (1998–2003)

Economic achievements
Greeting United States President Bill Clinton (left) at APEC meeting in Auckland, 12 September 1999
Kim Dae-Jung in 1998

Kim Dae-jung took office in the midst of the economic crisis that hit South Korea in the final year of Kim Young-sam's term. He vigorously pushed economic reform and restructuring recommended by the International Monetary Fund, in the process significantly altering the landscape of South Korean economy. He commenced the Gold-collecting campaign in South Korea to overcome the debt to the International Monetary Fund.[21][5][22][23] After the economy shrank by 5.8 percent in 1998, it grew 10.2 percent in 1999.[3] In effect, his policies were to make for a fairer market by holding the powerful chaebol (conglomerates) accountable, e.g., greater transparency in accounting practices. State subsidies to large corporations were dramatically cut or dropped. And Kim Dae-jung administration built up country-wide high-speed ICT infrastructure and fostered IT and Venture Businesses as the future source of growth.[24][25]

North Korea policy
See also: Sunshine Policy
In February 2001, Russian president Vladimir Putin dined with Kim Dae-Jung.

His policy of engagement with North Korea has been termed the Sunshine Policy.[3] He moved to begin détente with the communist government in North Korea, which culminated in a historic summit meeting in 2000 in Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. This marked a critical juncture in inter-Korean relations. On 13 October 2000, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for these efforts.[26] A big consequence of these efforts is that on September 15, 2000, the Korean Unification Flag(Korean: 통일기; Hanja: 統一旗; RR: Tong-ilgi; MR: T'ong'ilgi) was carried into an Olympic Stadium during an Olympic opening ceremony for the first time. However, the historic event was tainted significantly by allegations that at least several hundred million dollars had been paid to North Korea. This is the Cash-for-summit scandal. Hyundai transferred $500 million to the North just months before the summit, triggering criticism that S.Korean Government paid for the summit. Hyundai claimed the money was a payment for exclusive business rights in electric power facilities, communication lines, an industrial park, cross-border roads and railway lines in North Korea. And in this regard, Park Jie-won was charged with violating domestic laws on foreign exchange trade and inter-Korean cooperation affairs while orchestrating covert money transfers by Hyundai to North Korea. Mr. Park played a pivotal role in arranging the first Inter-Korean summit. In May 2006, he was sentenced for three years in prison. Park was released in February 2007, and pardoned in December 2007.[27] Also in order to persuade North Korea to attend the summit, several "unconverted long-term prisoners" kept by South Korea were released and returned to North Korea.[28]

Relationship with former Presidents

After Kim achieved the presidency and moved into the Blue House, there was uncertainty and considerable speculation about how he would handle the office. He had been sentenced to death by Chun Doo Hwan. Chun and his successor Roe Tae Woo had been sentenced by Kim Dae Jung's predecessor President Kim Young Sam. Kim Dae Jung pardoned Chun.

Etc.

During his presidency, he introduced South Korea's contemporary welfare state,[29][30][31] successfully shepherded the country's economic recovery, brought in a new era of economic transparency and fostered a greater role for South Korea in the world stage, including the FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002. Kim completed his 5-year presidential term in 2003 and was succeeded by Roh Moo-hyun. A presidential library at Yonsei University was built to preserve Kim's legacy, and there is a convention center named after him in the city of Gwangju, the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center.

Controversies

In 1999, the Furgate scandal damaged Kim Dae-jung and his party's reputation.[32][33][34]

Post-presidency

Kim called for restraint against the North Koreans for detonating a nuclear weapon and defended the continued Sunshine Policy towards Pyongyang to defuse the crisis. He also received an honorary doctorate at the University of Portland on 17 April 2008 where he delivered his speech, "Challenge, Response, and God."[35]

Illness and death
A roadside memorial for Kim Dae-jung

Kim died on 18 August 2009 at 13:43 KST, at Severance Hospital of Yonsei University in Seoul.[36] He was first admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia on 13 July. The cause of death was cardiac arrest caused by multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.[7] An interfaith state funeral was held for him on 23 August 2009 in front of the National Assembly Building, with a procession leading to the Seoul National Cemetery where he was interred according to Catholic traditions. He is the second person in South Korean history to be given a state funeral after Park Chung-hee.[37] North Korea sent a delegation to his funeral.[38]

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gollark: A single GLORIOUS line.
gollark: Problem resolved.

See also

References
  1. "Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung Dies at 85". Jakarta Globe. 18 August 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  2. "The Nobel Peace Prize for 2000".
  3. "Kim Dae-jung: Dedicated to reconciliation". CNN. 14 June 2001. Archived from the original on 22 September 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2006.
  4. "DJ 생일은 1924년 1월 6일". The Dong-a Ilbo. 19 August 2009. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015.
  5. "Kim Dae Jung". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  6. "Kim Dae-jung – Biography". The Nobel Foundation. 2000. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  7. "Former S. Korean President Kim Dae-Jung Dies". The Seoul Times. 18 August 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  8. "Kim Dae-jung – Nobel Lecture". The Nobel Foundation. 2000. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  9. Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books. p. 35. ISBN 9780465031238.
  10. "Kim Dae-jung, human rights champion and former South Korean president, dies". Amnesty International. 19 August 2009. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  11. Choe, Sang-hun (18 August 2009). "Kim Dae-jung, 83, Ex-President of South Korea, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  12. "John Paul II's appeal saved future Korean president from death sentence". Catholic News Agency. 21 May 2009. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  13. In the early 1980s Kim described this "intervention" at an Annual General Meeting of Amnesty International-USA. He was bound and naked, on the floor of a room with other dissidents awaiting helicopter rides out over the Sea of Japan where they would "disappear". A U.S. embassy official walked in, pointed to him, and said "Him, not yet."
  14. "Board of Advisors – Kim Dae-jung". The Oxford Council on Good Governance. n.d. Archived from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  15. "Opposition boycott shadows South Korea's new president". CNN. 25 February 1998. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  16. "1997 South Korean Presidential Election". University of California, Los Angeles – Center for East Asian Studies. 1998. Archived from the original on 8 December 2006.
  17. https://apcss.org/Publications/Edited%20Volumes/turningpoint/CH10.pdf
  18. "Black Venus: The South Korean spy who met late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il". 5 September 2018.
  19. "Korean Cloak-And-Dagger Case Might be Unparalleled in Scope".
  20. "The North Korean wind and South Korean elections | NK News - North Korea News". 14 April 2016.
  21. http://www.useoul.edu/news/news0101_view.jsp?idx=128898
  22. "Rok President Kim Dae-Jung's Keynote Address on the Korean Economy". The Journal of East Asian Affairs. 12 (2): 620–626. 1998. JSTOR 23255888.
  23. Song, Jesook (18 August 2009). South Koreans in the Debt Crisis: The Creation of a Neoliberal Welfare Society. ISBN 978-0822390824.
  24. East Asian Development Model: Twenty-first century perspectives.
  25. Developing Digital Governance: South Korea as a Global Digital Government Leader.
  26. "The Nobel Peace Prize for 2000 to Kim Dae-jung". Nobel Prize. 13 October 2000. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  27. "Park Jie-won gets leave from jail for treatment". Korea JoongAng Daily. 6 November 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  28. Ahn, Mi-young (5 September 2000). "Spies' repatriation causes unease in Seoul". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  29. Takegawa, Shogo (December 2005). "Japan's Welfare State Regime: Welfare Politics, Provider and Regulator" (PDF). Development and Society. 34 (2): 169–190. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  30. Muthu, Rajendran (2006). "Social Development in Japan: A Focus on Social Welfare Issues" (PDF). Journal of Societal & Social Policy. 5 (1): 1–20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  31. East Asian Development Model: Twenty-first century perspectives.
  32. Heo, Uk (2010). South Korea since 1980. Roehrig, Terence. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 55–56. ISBN 9780521761161. OCLC 498419139.
  33. Yoon, Young-Kwan (2000). "South Korea in 1999: Overcoming Cold War Legacies". Asian Survey. 40 (1): 164–171. doi:10.2307/3021230. JSTOR 3021230.
  34. Blechinger, Verena (2000). "Report on Recent Bribery Scandals, 1996-2000" (PDF). Submitted for a TI Workshop on Corruption and Political Party Funding in la Pietra, Italy.
  36. "Kim Dae-jung". The Economist. 27 August 2009. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012.
  37. Barbara Demick (19 August 2009). "Kim Dae-jung dies at 85; former South Korean president and Nobel laureate". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  38. Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books. pp. 437–438. ISBN 9780465031238.
Political offices
Preceded by
Kim Young-sam		 President of South Korea
25 February 1998 – 25 February 2003		 Succeeded by
Roh Moo-hyun
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