Lee touts ex-President Kim Dae-jung's legacy in Korea's democracy
President Lee Jae Myung salutes the national flag during a meeting on drawing up semiconductor industry strategy held at the presidential office in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday praised late President Kim Dae-jung's legacy in South Korea's democratic resilience, saying the Korean people who peacefully overcame the recent democratic crisis deserve a Nobel Peace Prize as Kim himself did.
Lee posted the message on Facebook to mark the 25th anniversary of Kim's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for his lifelong dedication to Korea's democratic movement and his efforts to promote reconciliation with North Korea.
"The Nobel Peace Prize was a tribute and a gesture of respect from the world to former President Kim, who devoted his life to democracy and peace on the Korean Peninsula," Lee wrote.
Lee highlighted Kim's accomplishments during his 1998-2003 presidency, noting he built nationwide information technology infrastructure despite the Asian financial crisis and adopted flexible cultural policies that helped lay the foundation for South Korea's emergence as a global digital and cultural powerhouse.
Kim, who spent decades resisting authoritarian rule in the 1970s and 1980s, and survived imprisonment and house arrest, became the first opposition leader in South Korea's history to win a presidential election and take office peacefully.
Lee said Kim's peaceful transfer of power in 1998 helped build the foundation for the Korean people's ability to peacefully overcome the democratic crisis triggered by former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law attempt last December.
He said the courage and solidarity shown by those who gathered in front of the National Assembly on the night of Yoon's brief martial law declaration offered "new hope and inspiration" to the world.
"I believe the Korean people who peacefully overcame the democratic crisis deserve to stand alongside former President Kim Dae-jung in receiving the Nobel Peace Prize," he said, vowing to take lessons from Kim's political philosophy to better serve the people.