Refugees and Asylum 31100

President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea, who was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, was born on December 3, 1925 on a small, isolated island off the south western tip of the Korean peninsula. He was to say later in adversity that this broad horizon of the sea inspired him with dreams and courage. If his life has a moral it must surely be 'never give up,' that persistence pays, no matter how adverse the circumstances or seemingly impossible the task.

The second son of a poor share crop farmer the future President grew up and was educated under Japanese colonial rule. Later he got a job at a shipping company to avoid conscription into the Japanese Army. When Korea was liberated at the end of the Second World War, he decided to enter politics, confronting the incompetent and corrupt dictatorship of Syngman Rhee.

Kim Dae Jung's elected career started unfortunately, the National Assembly being closed by military coup only three days after his first election to it. Re-elected at the General Election of 1963, Kim Dae Jung began to emerge as a politician with courage and vision, becoming the spokesman of the New Democratic Party in 1967, and in 1971 after a historic speech opposing President Park's scheme to perpetuate his power, its presidential candidate - renewing hope for the restoration of democracy in Korea.

Despite all kinds of corrupt electioneering practices by President Park's supporters Kim Dae Jung managed to obtain 46 percent of the vote, identifying himself solidly in the nation's consciousness.

This challenge to President Park was the beginning of nearly three decades of persecution. Park vowed never again to risk direct elections: instead he imposed martial law and banned all political activities. Unprecedented suppression of all opposition to his policies soon followed.

Kim Dae Jung himself was a particular target. Kidnapped from a Tokyo hotel in August 1973 by agents of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, his life was spared only by an immediate and overwhelming reaction from world opinion. Instead he was placed under house arrest.

This did not silence him, however. With other democratic figures Kim Dae Jung issued a 'Declaration for Democracy,' on 1 March 1976. This re-ignited the pro-democracy movement but earned for Kim a sentence of five years in prison, at the end of which he was again placed under house arrest.

On October 26, 1979, President Park was assassinated. Two months later Kim was freed from house arrest. But after a short period, dubbed the 'Spring of Seoul,' he was yet again imprisoned by the authorities, this time on charges of treason, and later sentenced to death by court martial. This sentence was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment and then to 20 years in prison. In December 1982, the imprisonment was suspended, and the future President left Korea for exile in the United States.

Seeing that the pro-democracy movement in Korea was gaining momentum he decided to returning there in 1985, but was again repeatedly subjected to periods of house arrest. Massive popular protests followed and in July 1987 Kim's political rights were restored. Subsequently, direct Presidential elections were reinstated.

This should have been the end of the story. In fact Kim Dae Jung was defeated for the Presidency twice more, only succeeding in 1997 at what was his fourth attempt. His election marked the first transition of power to an opposition party and ushered in a new chapter in Korea's democratisation process.

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