Kim Dae-jung

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Kim Dae-jung (6 January 1924 18 August 2009) was President of South Korea from 1998 to 2003, and the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. A Roman Catholic since 1957, he has been called the "Nelson Mandela of Asia" He was able to win a seat in the House in the subsequent elections in 1963 and 1967 and went on to become an eminent opposition leader. As such, he was the natural opposition candidate for the country's presidential election in 1971. He nearly defeated Park, despite several handicaps on his candidacy which were imposed by the ruling regime.

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A very talented orator, Kim could command unwavering loyalty among his supporters. His staunchest support came from the Jeolla region, where he reliably garnered upwards of 95% of the popular vote, a record that has remained unsurpassed in South Korean politics.

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Kim was almost killed in August 1973, when he was kidnapped from a hotel in Tokyo by KCIA agents in response to his criticism of President Park's yushin program, which granted near-dictatorial powers to the president. Only the intervention of American ambassador Philip Habib saved him from being drowned.

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Although Kim returned to Seoul alive, he was banned from politics and imprisoned in 1976 for having participated in the proclamation of an anti-government manifesto and sentenced for five years in prison, which was reduced to house arrest in 1978. With the intervention of the United States government, the sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison and later he was given exile to the U.S. Kim temporarily settled in Boston and taught at Harvard University as a visiting professor to the Center for International Affairs, until he chose to return to his homeland in 1985. During his period abroad, he authored a number of opinion pieces in leading Western newspapers that were sharply critical of his government.

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Pope John Paul II sent a letter to then-South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan on 11 December 1980, asking for "clemency" for Kim, a Catholic, who had been sentenced to death a week before. The National Archives of Korea revealed the contents of the letter at the request of the "Kwangju Ilbo," the local daily newspaper in Gwangju (Kwangju).

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President of South Korea: The President is head of state of South Korea....

Nobel Peace Prize: The Nobel Peace Prize (where Nobel is pronounced with the stress on the latter syllable) is one of five Nobel Prizes bequested by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. According to the will of Alfred Nobel the prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the ...

Roman Catholic: REDIRECT Catholic Church...

Kim Dae-jung related Images and Photos (experimental)

Detail of Painting of Kim Jung II Admiring Scenery of Mt. Chilbo South Hwanghae-Do North Korea	Kim Novak	Kim Raver	Kim Wilde
Kim Delaney	Lil' Kim: Ms. G.O.A.T.	Lil' Kim: Ms. G.O.A.T.	Kim Cattrall
Kim Cattrall	Kim Lankford	Kim 1950	Kim 1950