By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
The late former President Kim Dae-jung (1924-2009) was apprehensive about a national crisis on three fronts ― democratic, economic and with inter-Korean relations until he fell ill about a month ago.
An eloquent and intelligent speaker, he continued to speak his mind after leaving Cheong Wa Dae in 2003 following the end of his five-year presidential term that included the first-ever inter-Korean summit.
In recent years, he was concerned that his political legacy, particularly defined by the Sunshine Policy of engaging North Korea, was being dismantled against a backdrop of increasing nuclear threats from Pyongyang and sour inter-Korean relations since the inauguration of the Lee Myung-bak administration in February last year.
During a recent speech on the occasion of the June 15 Declaration, he underlined the importance of upholding the signature resolution of the 2000 inter-Korean summit and the Oct. 3 Declaration, signed between his successor Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2007.
``The Korean government should find a rational solution to the North Korean nuclear issue through efforts of developing its relationship with North Korea. To this end, the prerequisite is to acknowledge and implement the June 15 Joint Declaration and Oct. 3 Declaration,'' Kim said during the commemorative lecture on June 11.
``It is necessary to reassure and implement the sublime spirit and agreed terms of the joint declarations in order to inherit the history of unification maintained for 1,300 years and pass down an era of unification rooted in peace and cooperation for our next generations. This is the only way for Koreans to take the path to peace, prosperity, and unification.''
Speaking to foreign correspondents based in Seoul in January, he urged President Lee to acknowledge the legitimacy of the two declarations signed by leaders of the two Koreas and proposed a third inter-Korean summit.
``It is the obligation of an incumbent President to carry out and respect official international agreements signed by his or her predecessors. Unless these two important declarations are respected, it will not be easy to resuscitate inter-Korean dialogue,'' Kim said.
``If President Lee finds problems, he can hold a third inter-Korean summit to remedy those problems and refine the declarations.''
Kim was also worried about the health of the nation's democracy, particularly since the suicide of liberal former President Roh in May. Kim described Roh as a ``partner in the nation's struggle for democracy'' and wept at his memorial service.
He dedicated parts of the June speech to express his discontent at the current administration's unilateral tendencies.
``This is what I would like to say to President Lee Myung-bak, that we are confronted with multiple signs of a regression in our hard-won democracy. The outpouring of grief for Roh's death goes to show how people feel about the current administration.'' he said.
`` Based on my long experience in politics, I can say with conviction that if President Lee continues to stick to his current way of running the country, both the people and the President will face harsh consequences,'' he warned.
Kim left behind numerous speeches, interviews and books recording his journey from a businessman to a political icon in modern Korea and a peace/human rights activist of global recognition.
His English-language books include Mass-Participatory Economy (1985, Lanham, University Press of America); Building Peace & Democracy: Kim Dae Jung Philosophy & Dialogues (1987, Berkeley, University of California Press); Three-Stage Approach to Korean Reunification: Focusing on the South-North Confederal Stage (1997, LA, University of Southern California); and The 21st Century and the Korean People (2004, Seoul, Hakgojae), among others.
He was working on an autobiography until he was hospitalized in mid-July.
As an eyewitness to Korea's meteoric development in the latter half of the 20th century, he was constantly proud of how much Korea had achieved and convinced of how far Korea can go.
In an interview with The Korea Times in August last year, he said, ``Our nation, time after time, faced despair but righted itself, again and again. We are just like a doll that rights itself when tipped over. We are a nation that doesn't know how to give up. We fall down seven times but get back up eight times.''
``Since the Republic's founding six decades ago, Korea achieved all the hallmarks of a modern nation: genuine democracy, industrialization and a high standard of living and a national economy that is one of the largest and the strongest in the world,'' the former President said.
Besides his towering political achievements, many consider Kim to be among a rare breed of politicians with dignity.
His supporters will remember him as a deeply religious man with a heart big enough to forgive even those that had once threatened his life.
He once said, ``Only the truly magnanimous and strong are capable of forgiving and loving. Let us persevere, then, praying always that God will help us to have the strength to love and forgive our enemies. Let us together, in this way, become the loving victors.''