EntityQ45785· pop 91· linked from 795 articles

Kim Dae-jung

8th President of the Republic of Korea (1924–2009)

AI overview

Kim Dae-jung was a South Korean political leader who served as the country's eighth president from 1998 to 2003, during a time of significant economic and political change. He is notable for his efforts to promote democracy in South Korea and for his "Sunshine Policy" aimed at improving relations with North Korea, making him an important figure in modern Korean history.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Quotes

“I agonize over the suffering that the North Korean people must be experiencing. Every time I'm having a meal and I leave some food, I think about how much this food could do for suffering North Korean children. I really do want to do more to help them, but again, with such negative public opinion in this country, it is very difficult to go ahead with assistance.”
“I am confident in my dealings with the heads. I believe that I have won their trust because, I have asked them for nothing. Unlike past presidents, I did not force them to give me money or political funds. Not a single cent. And, I have not shown favoritism to any particular chaebol. They know that I am fair.”
“I believe democracy is the foundation of a healthy economy. Without genuine democracy you cannot have a genuine market economy. And, under the market economy, one must fully open doors to allow free trade and investment.”
“Many of the leaders of Asian society have been saying that military dictatorship was the way and democracy was not good for their nation. They concentrated only on economic development. I believe that the fundamental cause of the financial crisis, including here in Korea, is because of placing economic development ahead of democracy.”
“If parents can tell their kids, `Look at Kim Dae Jung: Live upright, put your effort into a good cause and you will be successful,' then I think my life would be very meaningful”
“If we had true democracy in Korea, then the collusive intimacy between business and government and corruption would not have been as great here. And the wealth would not have been allocated to only a few people. Usually the dictatorship or authoritarian style of government lies to people.”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Article

Kim Dae-jung (Korean: 김대중; pronounced [kim.dɛ.dʑuŋ]; 8 January 1924 – 18 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist, and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003.

Originally an entrepreneur, Kim abandoned business and entered politics after the Korean War, becoming a member of the new wing of the Democratic Party. He was an opposition politician who carried out a democratization movement against the military dictatorship from the Third Republic in the 1960s to the Fifth Republic in the 1980s. He escaped death five times, spent six years in prison and ten years under house arrest and in exile. He was repeatedly imprisoned, exiled, almost murdered in a car accident, and sentenced to death by the military and political authorities. He ran unsuccessfully in presidential elections in 1971, 1987, and 1992. In the country's 15th presidential election in 1997, he defeated Grand National Party candidate Lee Hoi-chang through an alliance with Kim Jong-pil and the Democratic Liberal Party. Kim was the first opposition candidate to win the presidency. At the time of his inauguration in 1998, he was 74 years old, making him the oldest president in Korean history.