World

South Korean Ex-President, Nobel Peace Laureate Kim Dae-jung Died

by Scott Wu | August 18, 2009 at 11:37 am

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Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung (김대중, 金大中) died August 18, 2009 in hospital of complications from pneumonia, at age 85. Kim Dae-jung was the first South Korean Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his efforts in promoting peace with North Korea. The nation mourns for the loss of the great political leader.

President Lee Myung-bak said in a statement, "We lost a great political leader today. His accomplishments and aspirations to achieve democratization and inter-Korean reconciliation will long be remembered by the people."

"I hope that President Kim's lifelong wishes will eventually be realized through reconciliation between the South and North and social integration."

Kim Dae-jung was elected president in 1997. The victory marked a shift of power from the ruling party to opposition party for the first time in South Korean politics. In his presidency, his biggest legacy was the Sunshine Policy, which emphasized peaceful cooperation and reconciliation with North Korea. The policy resulted in 2 Korean summit meetings in Pyongyang, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. In 2000, Kim Dae-jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the results achieved by the Sunshine Policy.

As a key figure of South Korea's democracy, Kim Dae-jung survived 3 assassination attempts, one death sentence on charges of treason, and 6 years in prison.

His death brought a truce in South Korea's feuding politics, with party leaders, oppositions put aside their differences.

Kim's life-long rival Kim Young-sam said that "a great man passed away." For more than three decades, the two democratic leaders united in fighting the military dictatorship but competed bitterly with each other to grab power.

Former strongman Chun Doo-hwan, under whose rule Kim was sentenced to death for resistance against the junta, expressed deep sadness.

"He led the decades of turbulent political life. I wish he may now rest in the heaven."

Last week, the nation witnessed a reconciliation of historical moment when the two former presidents visited the hospital.