Former President Kim Dae-jung dies

Kim Dae-jung, former president of South Korea, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and lifetime advocate of human rights and democracy, died yesterday of complications from pneumonia. He was 85.

“Kim, Korea’s 15th president and the Nobel Prize winner, died at 1:43 p.m. on Aug. 18,” said Park Jie-won, who served as Kim’s chief of staff. “We will uphold the will of the family, including that of former first lady Lee Hee-ho, and prepare for Kim’s last moments with the utmost respect.”

Dr. Park Chang-il, head of Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital, said yesterday that Kim passed away from multiple organ failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Kim was admitted to the hospital on July 13 for pneumonia. After 37 days of battling against illness, the political giant’s heart could not go on, Dr. Park said.

“Because of Kim’s age and his condition associated with multiple organ failure, we did not perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation,” Dr. Park said. “We peacefully let him go.”

In addition to his wife, Kim is survived by three sons, Hong-il, Hong-eop and Hong-geol.

“We lost a great political leader today,” President Lee Myung-bak was quoted as saying in a Blue House press release yesterday shortly after Kim’s death. “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,” Lee said. According to the Blue House spokesman, Lee conveyed his condolences to Park’s family and prayed that the former president rest in peace.

Born on Jan. 6, 1924 in Sinan, South Jeolla, Kim served as South Korea’s president from 1998 to 2003. In 1954, Kim took his first step in the political arena by running in a parliamentary election to fight against the dictatorial government of Syngman Rhee, the country’s first president. He was defeated. Since then, he stood tirelessly on the opposite side of the military regimes of Korea’s modern history, finally winning the presidency in 1997 after three defeats.

The highlight of his political career came in 2000 when he flew to Pyongyang and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

“I am beginning my journey with a burning heart for the Korean people and a cool head to see reality,” Kim said at the time shortly before his departure.

The historic summit and his devotion to rights and democracy won him the Nobel Peace Prize later that year.

“What we do not want to believe has come to reality,” Park, Kim’s closest aide, said of Kim’s death. Park said the former president’s wife, sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren were present at Kim’s deathbed. Kim’s confidants, including Kwon Rho-kap and Hahn Hwa-kap as well as Park, were also present, he said.

According to Park, former first lady Lee was struck with grief, but remained composed as the hospital provided medical attention. Kim’s aides and sons greeted visitors at the mourning altar yesterday afternoon.

The mourning altar for Kim was prepared at Severance Hospital, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who was in the country, paid a visit before his departure. Politicians and Kim supporters flocked to the altar to bid farewell to the late former president.

“After talking to the family, including the former first lady, we will consult with the government about the funeral,” Park said, adding that he had been contacted by Public Administration and Security Minister Lee Dal-gon for the ritual’s preparation.

The nation’s law allows Kim’s funeral to be hosted by the state or the people. His family can also make a decision to host a private ceremony. If the family wants Kim to be buried at a national cemetery, the grave is expected to be located in the presidential area of the National Cemetery in Daejeon.

The late former President Roh Moo-hyun, who succeeded Kim in office, was accorded seven days of national mourning before being given a funeral hosted by the people following his death in May.

By Ser Myo-ja