Kim Young Sam (1927– )

South Korean democratic politician, president 1993–98. In 1990 he merged his Reunification Democratic Party with the ruling conservative Democratic Justice Party to form the Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), and was elected president in December 1992. As president, he encouraged greater political openness, some deregulation of the economy, and a globalization (‘segyehwa’) initiative. He granted amnesty to 41,000 prisoners, including pro-democracy demonstrators, and launched a drive against corruption. However in 1997 his own administration was involved in corruption scandals and his reputation was tarnished.

As president, in 1996 he was instrumental in placing on trial the former presidents Roh Tae-woo and Chun Doo-hwan on sedition charges. In 1997 his reputation was damaged by a financial scandal related to the failed Hanbo conglomerate, and in October 1997 his son Kim Hyum Chul was fined $1.5 million and jailed for three years for bribery and tax evasion. He was replaced as president by the veteran opposition leader Kim Dae Jung, following elections which he was unable to contest as a result of Korea's term-limit rules.

A Presbyterian, Kim was born near Pusan. A member of the National Assembly from 1954 and president of the New Democratic Party from 1974, he lost his seat and was placed under house arrest in 1979 because of his opposition to the authoritarian President Park Chung Hee. In 1983 he led a pro-democracy hunger strike but in 1987 failed to defeat the governing party's candidate, Roh Tae-woo, in the presidential election. In the 1992 presidential election he captured 42% of the national vote, assuming office in February 1993.