Chronology—Life of Kim Dae-jung (1924~2009)
Early Years
• January 6, 1924: Born in Sinan County, South Jeolla Province.
• 1943: Graduated from Mokpo Commercial High School, South Jeolla Province.
• 1944: Launches the Mokpo Shipping Company.
• 1946: Marries Cha Yong-ae, who later gives birth to two sons Hong-il and Hong-eop
• 1948-50: Serves as CEO of Mokpo Daily
• 1951: Serves as CEO of Heungguk Shipping Co., President of the Jeollanam-do Shipping Association, and a Trustee at the Korean Shipbuilders’ Association
Political Career
• 1960: Becomes a spokesperson for the Democratic Party (DP)
• 1961: Elected to the 5th-term National Assembly in a by-election.
• 1962: Marries to Lee Hee-ho, who later gives birth to Kim’s youngest son Hong-geol
• 1963: Elected to the 6th-term National Assembly; serves as spokesperson for the Democratic Party.
• 1964: Delivers a 5 hour and 19 minute-long filibuster speech to stall parliamentary approval of the unlawful arrest of Rep. Kim Jun-yeon.
• 1965: Named spokesperson of the People’s Party.
• 1967: Serves as a member of the Political Affairs Committee of the People’s Party.
• June 1967: Elected to the 7th-term National Assembly.
First Attempt at Presidency
• September 1970: Elected the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate for the 7th-term presidential election.
• October 1970: Proposes inter-Korean exchanges for non-political purposes and theories for reunification with North Korea.
The Yusin Constitution Period 1972~1979
• July 1972: Proposes joint entry of the two Koreas into the United Nations at a foreign press conference after the July 4th South-North Joint Statement.
• October 1972: President Park Chunghee’s military regime dissolves the National Assembly and suspends the Constitution in the form of “Yusin,” or reform measures; a brief stay in Tokyo for medical treatment turns into an exile for Kim. He issued his first anti-Yusin statement from Tokyo and continued to protest Yusin measures in the U.S. and Japan through the local press and Korean communities.
• August 8, 1973: Abducted from a Tokyo hotel by CIA agents. He was released Aug. 13, and was placed under house arrest at his Donggyo-dong residence in Seoul and barred from any political activities.
• August 1974: Supports reform-minded Kim Young-sam in his bid to become the party leader at the New Democratic Party national convention.
• November 1974: While still under house arrest, Kim joins the National Conference for Democracy Restoration, an anti-dictatorship campaign organization.
• March 1976: Leads the March 1st Declaration for Democratization along with other dissidents; arrested for breach of Emergency Executive Order No. 9 and imprisoned until December 1978.
• December 1978: Released from jail after two years and nine months following suspension of sentence; placed immediately under indefinite house arrest but released after President Park’s assassination and the subsequent repeal of Emergency Executive Order No. 9.
Post Yusin Era in Early 1980s
• February 1980: Pardoned and reinstated.
• May 1980: Holds a joint press conference with New Democratic Party leader Kim Young-sam to propose six measures for stabilizing the nation, including lifting of martial law and the release of political prisoners.
• May 17 1980: Arrested by the Martial Law Command led by Major General Chun Doohwan on fabricated charges of treason; Gwangju Democratization Movement breaks out.
• September 17, 1980: Sentenced to death by a court martial.
• January 1981: Sentence commuted to imprisonment due to international pressure.
• March 1982: Prison term reduced to 20 years.
• December 1982: Sentence suspended after 2 years and 7 months; leaves for the United States for medical treatment.
U.S. Exile 1983-85
• January 1983: Settles in Alexandria, Virginia with family, speaks to Newsweek and other U.S. press outlets on the democracy and human rights situation in Korea.
• February 1983: Establishes the Korean Institute for Human Rights in Washington, D.C.; leads U.S.-based campaigns for Korea’s democratization.
• February 1985: Returns to Korea after 2 years and 3 months of exile; arrested at Gimpo Airport and immediately put under house arrest.
Return to Korea and Politics
• March 1985: Agrees to consolidate opposition forces and co-chair the Council for the Promotion of Democracy (CPD) with Kim Young-sam.
• April 1987: Launches a new Reunification Democratic Party (RDP) jointly with Kim Young-sam.
• September 1987: Visits Gwangju after 17 years and pays respect to victims of May 18th Democratic Movement buried at Mangweol-dong Cemetery (now May 18th Memorial Park); visits hometown Mokpo and Haui Island after 28 years.
• October 1987: Announces bid for the 13thterm presidential election.
• November 1987: Establishes the Party for Peace and Democracy (PPD); elected Party President and candidate for the 13th presidential election, but loses to Roh Tae-woo in December 1987.
• April 1988: Elected to the 13th-term National Assembly; PPD becomes the first ever opposition party to hold a majority in the National Assembly.
• April 1991: The PPD recruits leading dissident figures and re-launches as New Democratic Union Party (NDUP).
• September 1991: The NDUP merges with the Democratic Party led by Lee Gi-taek.
• March 1992: Elected to the 14th-term National Assembly.
• December 1992: Loses the presidential election to Kim Young-sam and announces his retirement from politics.
• July 1993: Returns to Korea.
• January 1994: Establishes the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation for the Asia-Pacific Region.
• July 1995: Returns to politics.
• September 1995: Inaugurates the National Congress for New Politics (NCNP).
• May 1997: Nominated as NCNP’s presidential candidate.
15th-Term President of Korea 1997-2003
• December 1997: Elected the 15th-term President of Korea, marking the first peaceful transfer of power between rival parties.
• February 1998: Sworn in as the 15th-term President of the Republic of Korea.
• January 2000: Named President of the Millennium Democratic Party.
• June 2000: Holds an inter-Korean summit with Kim Jong-il, Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, for the first time in the 55 years of the division of the Korean Peninsula; announces the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration.
• December 2000: Awarded the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize.
• February 2003: Presidential term ends. While in office, Kim was noted for implementing policies to advance democracy, transparent marketeconomy, informatization, welfare framework and above all, reconciliation between the two Koreas.
Life After Cheong Wa Dae
• August 2003: Conferred the Manhae Peace Award, Korea.
• November 2003: Dedication of the Kim Daejung Presidential Library and Museum
• December 2003: Decorated with the Bernardo O’Higgins Great Cross of Chile.
• June 2004: Visits China and holds talks with Chairman Jiang Zemin.
• November 2004: Visits Sweden and Rome; holds talks with Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson and Italian President Carlo Ciampi; presents a speech at the 5th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates (Rome, Italy).
• December 2004: Visits Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; delivers a special address at the 2nd East Asia Forum.
• December 2004: ‘The 21st Century and the Korean People,’ a selection of speeches and interviews, in published in Korean, English and Japanese.
• June 2005: Holds an interview at the Kim Daejung Presidential Library with Hankook Ilbo, sister paper of The Korea Times, on the occasion of the Korean language daily’s 51st anniversary.
• June 2005: Continued to deliver lectures at home and abroad on inter-Korean relations.
Academic Background
• 1964: Graduate School of Business Administration, Korea University, Seoul
• 1967: Graduate School of Business Administration, Kyung Hee University, Seoul
• 1970: Graduate Program in Economics, Kyung Hee University, Seoul
• 1983: Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
• 1983: Visiting fellow at the Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
• 1992: Honorary Doctorate of Political Science, Diplomatic Academy of the Foreign Ministry of Russia, Moscow
• 1992: Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
• January 1993: Visiting Fellow, Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, UK