Nation saddened by death of 'great political leader'

By Yoo Cheong-mo

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- Former President Kim Dae-jung, a lifelong campaigner for democracy and inter-Korean peace, died at Seoul's Severance Hospital Tuesday after a long battle with pneumonia and related complications, hospital officials and aides said. He was 85.

"Former President Kim had been treated for pneumonia since July 13 but died of
heart failure caused by internal organ dysfunctions," Park Chang-il, president of
Severance Hospital, said in a news conference.
"His heart failed at 1:43p.m. on August 18. But doctors abstained from
administering emergency cardiopulmonary treatment in consideration of his old
age."
Kim, who served as president from 1998-2003, was admitted to the hospital in
western Seoul on July 13 with pneumonia and put on a respirator three days later.
He underwent surgery on his bronchial tubes in late July as part of procedures to
facilitate his breathing.
Beginning late Monday night, Kim's health condition suddenly deteriorated, with
his heart failing intermittently, according to doctors.
He is survived by his wife and former first lady Lee Hee-ho and three sons.
Park Jie-won, a top aide to the late president, said at the news conference that
an altar for Kim would be set up at Severance Hospital's funeral home.
"At the moment of his death, Kim was given a last farewell by former first lady
Lee, his sons and grandchildren, and his closest aides. (Kim's family members and
aides) are deeply grateful to the entire nation for their prayers for his
health," said Park, an opposition lawmaker who formerly served as Kim's
presidential chief of staff.
"We're also grateful to doctors at Severance Hospital. We'll arrange Kim's
funeral through close consultations with his family and the government."
Kim met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in June 2000 for the first
inter-Korean summit and won the Nobel Peace Prize later that year in recognition
of his lifelong fight for democracy and efforts to promote reconciliation on the
Korean Peninsula.
South Korea's only Nobel laureate, Kim endured abduction, torture and multiple
arrests at the hands of the nation's authoritarian rulers of the 1970s and 1980s
while pushing forward its pro-democracy movement.
News of Kim's death gripped the nation immediately after it was reported, with
President Lee Myung-bak saying in a statement that South Korea has lost a "great
political leader."
"The people will long remember his aspirations and accomplishments for democracy
and national reconciliation," Lee said.
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said that the government will
set up official altars for the late Kim in the center of Seoul and other major
provincial cities, as well as at the nation's overseas diplomatic missions.
"The government's official altars will open nationwide at 9 a.m. Wednesday. In
the case of Seoul, it will be set up at Seoul Plaza in front of the city hall," a
ministry official said.
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo convened a meeting of relevant Cabinet ministers,
instructing them to make "thorough and faithful" preparations for Kim's funeral.
"Our country has lost a treasured leader. Former President Kim has left enormous
footprints for our nation's democracy and peace. The government will have to make
through and faithful preparations for his funeral," said Han.
South Koreans are particularly saddened as Kim's death comes just months after
the suicide of Kim's successor and former President Roh Moo-hyun. Roh, who served
as president from 2003 to 2008, took his own life in May after being questioned
by prosecutors amid a protracted corruption probe.
"Kim's greatest accomplishment was that he risked his own life to attain
democracy. Without his dedication, our nation may not have achieved today's
democracy," Park Min-sung, a 29-year-old resident of Seoul, said.
"He deserves additional credit for rescuing the nation from a foreign exchange
crisis in the late 1990s by exerting great political leadership."
Wi Jung-ho, another resident of Seoul, said Kim's death would cast a dark cloud
over inter-Korean relations.
"I'm shocked at his death. I knew he was ill but I thought he would manage to
recover this year. Without him, I'm particularly concerned about the outlook for
inter-Korean relations," said Wi.
South Korea's rival political parties issued statements mourning the loss of one
of the nation's greatest politicians.
"Former President Kim dedicated his entire life to democracy, human rights and
development of inter-Korean relations," the ruling Grand National Party said in a
statement.
The main opposition Democratic Party also said in its statement that former
President Kim was a "truly great teacher" for the nation.
"We're not prepared yet to bid farewell to you. You had refused to surrender to
the dictators, successfully overcame economic catastrophe and taught us the
importance of brotherly love towards the Korean people across the border," the
party said.
Many dignitaries, including the late Kim's predecessor and one-time political
rival, Kim Young-sam, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, visited Severance
Hospital later Tuesday afternoon.
The grim-faced former President Kim Young-sam, who declared his reconciliation
with the late leader last week, came to the Yonsei University-run hospital to pay
his respects.
"A giant politician has passed away. He was long both my companion and rival. I'm
truly grieved by his death," Kim told reporters on arriving at the hospital.
U.N. chief Ban expressed deep grief, saying South Korea has lost a "great leader"
who contributed greatly to human rights and inter-Korean relations.
Countries worldwide and their embassies in Seoul also offered their condolences
to the South Korean people.
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul issued a statement calling the late Kim an "inspiring
leader, a committed activist, and a good friend."
"During his time in office, relations between the United States and the Republic
of Korea made significant gains," the embassy said in the statement. "President
Kim's leadership on North Korean relations was greatly appreciated by Washington
policymakers, who continued to seek and value his advice well after his term
expired."
China's President Hu Jintao sent a message to President Lee Myung-bak expressing
his condolences over the death of Kim, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso also expressed "heartfelt condolences," saying
that Kim contributed greatly to the establishment of new cooperative relations
between the two countries for the 21st century.
Kim was born to a middle-class farming family on Jan. 6, 1924, on a small island
in South Jeolla Province, when Korea was still under Japanese colonial rule.
He developed the resolve to fight what he saw as an increasingly corrupt
government in the late 1940s, when Syngman Rhee, South Korea's first president,
began to steer the country toward authoritarianism.
Kim was stripped of his parliamentary seat in 1961 when Gen. Park Chung-hee
seized control of the government through a military coup and dissolved the
parliament. He was re-elected to parliament in 1963, and his early challenges to
Park's iron-fisted rule put him on track for the turbulent life he was to lead.
In 1980, Kim and other leading opposition figures were arrested on charges of
treason by Gen. Chun Doo-hwan, who imposed martial law as he moved to take over
the presidency following the assassination of Park a year earlier. Kim was
sentenced to death after being accused of fomenting an uprising in the city of
Gwangju, but was later pardoned.
Political analysts say it was just short of a miracle that Kim won the 1997
presidential election. His inauguration marked South Korea's first transfer of
power between rival parties.