Kim plans a life dedicated to peace

Kim Dae-jung left the Blue House yesterday at 5 p.m. to return to his home in western Seoul. A former senior Blue House official reiterated Mr. Kim’s pledge to remain distant from politics. “I want to spend the rest of my life as an ordinary citizen devoted to the state and will never interfere in politics,” Mr. Kim said.
Park Jie-won, Mr. Kim’s chief of staff, said Mr. Kim will do research at the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation building, which has been taken over by Yonsei University. He has no plans to travel for the time being.
As a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a former president, Mr. Kim has said he wants to work as a “peace missionary.” He wants to give lectures overseas on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program peacefully. A close aide said that Mr. Kim had spent many sleepless nights since opposition party lawmakers accused his administration of bribing the North to realize the June 2000 inter-Korean summit; he reportedly has started sleeping better over the last few days.
Former President Kim Young-sam, Mr. Kim’s long-time political adversary, has formed a group of social leaders concerned about rising anti-American sentiment and calls to remove U.S. troops from the peninsula. The group issued a statement, saying the North would invade the South if U.S. troops leave; they also called for Kim Dae-jung to be arrested and charged with orchestrating cash transfers to the North to secure the summit.
A close aide to Kim Young-sam said the former president would continue his activities out of patriotism. Mr. Kim has told acquaintances that the outgoing administration has sent enough cash to the North to put the nation at risk, the aide said. The aide said Mr. Kim is in good health; he plays badminton with his neighbors everyday and will start hiking again in the spring.

by Ko Jung-ae