Kim Young-sam Again Denounces President Kim Dae-jung

Kim Young-sam, former president of South Korea, reproached President Kim Dae-jung during his visit to the U.S. Often referred to as YS, Kim Yong-sam had breakfast with Korean reporters in Washington D.C. on April 25.

"Kim Dae-jung lost his power after the opposition party won the most seats for the National Assembly," said YS at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Washington.

During the meeting, he stated that Kim Dae-jung should step down from the presidency. "The president broke his promise to the people. He has not made any attempt to change the adminstration into a cabinet system. The validity of Kim's regime ended when he broke that promise at the end of 1999. He should resign his presidency," insisted Kim.

YS commented mostly on the result of the General Election on April 13. "The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) could have won 70 percent of the Assembly seats at the General Election. The reason why the opposite party did not win more votes is because of the serious nomination problems," he added.

"GNP leader Lee Hoi-chang should take full responsibility for the problems that plagued the nomination process," claimed Kim.

Kim also commented on the Democratic People's Party (DPP), which is known as the Kyongsang Province party. "The commander of an army should fight at the front lines. So, the DPP should have positioned their leaders in the Seoul area. Cho Sun, Kim Sang-hyun, Chang Ki-pyo should have been in Seoul."

He also talked about his relationship with Rhee In-je, who was a member of the GNP but left the party to run as an independent during the 1997 presidential campaign. He described in detail how he pursuaded Lee not to leave the party. "Rhee In-je wanted to visit me after he became the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) campaign manager for the 2000 General Election, but I said 'anyone except you'," explained Kim.

YS also stated that he had initially recommended that a summit be held in Pyongyang. "I told the Vice Unification minister, 'The summit should take place in Seoul, but do not make a big issue of it. Kim Il-sung (then the North Korean leader) will refuse to come to Seoul because of his illness in 1994," said Kim.

by Kim Jin