Kim Dae Jung (1924– )

South Korean social-democratic politician, president 1998–2002. As a committed opponent of the regime of General Park Chung Hee, he suffered imprisonment and exile. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2000 for his work for peace and reconciliation with North Korea, and for his support of democracy and human rights in South Korea and East Asia.

A Roman Catholic, born in the poor southwestern province of Cholla, Kim was imprisoned by communist troops during the Korean War. He rose to prominence as an opponent of Park and was only narrowly defeated when he challenged Park for the presidency in 1971. He was imprisoned 1976–78 and 1980–82 for alleged ‘anti-government activities’ and lived in the USA 1982–85. On his return to South Korea he spearheaded a fragmented opposition campaign for democratization, but, being one of several opposition candidates, was defeated by the government nominee, Roh Tae-woo, in the presidential election of December 1987.

A political firebrand, Kim enjoyed strong support among blue-collar workers and fellow Chollans, but was feared and distrusted by the country's business and military elite. He was again defeated in the presidential elections in 1992. However, assisted by divisions on the right, he was eventually elected president in December 1997 and started in office in 1998, facing a serious economic crisis in the country and the entire region. He granted amnesty to 2,304 prisoners in March 1998, and introduced new labour laws, ending the right to lifelong employment, which provoked a series of strikes. He made continuous efforts to end the bitterness remaining from the Korean War (1950–53), and in 2000 journeyed to North Korea for a summit with that nation's communist dictator Kim Jong II. This led to the border between the two countries being opened that year so families separated by the war could be reunited. At the same time, Kim Dae Jung's administration began constructing a railway link to North Korea.