President Lee says S. Korea has lost great political leader

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with presidential spokesman's comments, remarks by
ex-presidents, other details)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak said Tuesday that his country
has lost a "great political leader" with the death of former President Kim
Dae-jung, widely revered for his life-long efforts to promote democracy and
inter-Korean reconciliation.

"The people will long remember his aspirations and accomplishments for democracy
and national reconciliation," Lee said in a brief statement. "I hope former
president Kim's spirit will lead to inter-Korean reconciliation and national
unity."
Lee also expressed deep condolences to the bereaved family.
The president had an emergency meeting with his secretaries upon learning of
Kim's death, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.
"Former President Kim, even while on his sickbed, offered a chance for social
reconciliation," the spokesman quoted Lee as saying at the meeting.
The president instructed relevant officials to prepare for Kim's funeral in full
consultation with the bereaved family, according to the spokesman.
Despite Kim's death, he added, there will be no major change in the president's
schedules or in the timetable for major national events, including the launch of
the country's first space vehicle slated for Wednesday.
With regard to the possibility of North Korea sending a delegation on Kim's
death, the spokesman said, "As far as I know, North Korea has not expressed any
official position yet. If it wants to do so, there is no reason to object."
He added that the president will, "at an appropriate time," visit Severance
Hospital where Kim's body remains and where an altar has been erected in his
honor.
Kim's death comes at a sensitive time in inter-Korean relations and domestic
politics.
Having served as president from 1998-2003, Kim survived several assassination
attempts and a death sentence while defying the country's military rulers during
the 1970s and 1980s. It was due to his efforts that the first inter-Korean summit
with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il was held in 2000, for which he won the
Nobel Peace Prize that same year.
The summit paved the way for a reduction in tensions on the divided peninsula and
various cross-border economic projects, many of which were suspended after the
conservative Lee administration took office early last year.
North Korea and Hyundai Group, the largest South Korean investor in the communist
nation and the developer of the tour programs, agreed earlier this week to revive
tours to Mount Kumgang on the North's east coast and Kaesong, an ancient city
just north of the heavily-armed border.
One and a half years into office, the Lee administration is also eager to ease
the ideological rift dividing South Korea's conservatives and liberals, with Kim
Dae-jung arguably the face of South Korea's left.
Former President Kim Young-sam described Kim's death as "regrettable and
lamentable," according to his aides.
"I think a big tree of the country has collapsed," Kim, once a political partner
and later an archrival of the late president, was quoted as saying.
"I didn't know he would die so early like this," former President Chun Doo-hwan
said. "I express deep condolence to (his wife) Lee Hee-ho and other bereaved
families."
Chun once had sentenced Kim Dae-jung to death, accusing him of orchestrating an
uprising against his rule. He, who himself was sentenced to death for rebellion,
later received a presidential pardon from Kim.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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