By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Aug. 13 has a special meaning for former President Kim Dae-jung. Every year, he celebrated the day as if it were his second birthday. It was the day when he safely returned to Korea from a kidnapping-murder attempt by Korean intelligence agents in Tokyo during his exile 36 years ago.
Today also has special meaning for his devoted wife Lee Hee-ho, two years older than Kim, who had a tearful reunion with her husband.
But, today he must celebrate this "meaningful" day at Severance Hospital.
During the kidnapping, repeated house arrests and in jail, the former first lady devoted her life to her husband. When Kim was in jail, she kept her room cold to share the pain of her husband in a cold cell.
The respected former first lady is hopeful of the recovery of her husband, especially today as she celebrates his survival under the military regime 36 years ago.
"My fingers are crossed for Aug. 13 celebrations with the presence of my husband and his supporters," she told former U.S. ambassador Donald Gregg Tuesday during his visit to the hospital.
A pro-democracy fighter during the authoritarian regimes led by Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan, he was kidnapped on Aug. 8, 1973, during his exile in Japan as part of an assassination attempt by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.
When the attempt failed, they tried to drown him at sea. But intervention by the United States and Japan prevented the murder. Kim has said it was the United States that intervened in the kidnapping operation to save his life.
Kim was released on Aug. 13 but was placed under house arrest and barred from political activities until the 1979 assassination of President Park.
Kim has celebrated the date as one of the milestones in his long political career that culminated in his presidency in 1997 after three failed presidential bids.
Supporters and family members gathered at a Seoul Catholic church Wednesday to remember his safe return to Korea and wish for his recovery.
Kim also faced another scare when he was sentenced to death in 1980 on charges of treason.
Kim and Lee were married in 1962, shortly after Kim's election to the National Assembly had been nullified by the military coup of 1961 led by two-star general Park.
"I was drawn to his convictions, magnanimity and charm," Lee wrote in her autobiography.
The 88-year-old wife has been at his bedside with her signature dignity and devotion.
She has been at Severance Hospital day and night for the past month, receiving numerous well-wishers, praying and comforting her husband, sometimes with hand-made gifts - including knitted socks and gloves.
Lee gets up at 6:30 a.m. every morning and meets her husband three to four times a day, according to Rep. Park Jie-won, Kim's former chief presidential secretary.
She continued to greet well-wishers Wednesday, including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens and Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi.
"Whenever an inter-Korean crisis occurred, people looked to the Nobel peace prizewinner for guidance," Ban said, underlining Kim's essential role in the nation's democracy and inter-Korean reconciliation.
The former President was in critical condition last Sunday and is still unstable, despite intermittent improvements.
Kim, who served as president between 1998 and 2003, was admitted to hospital July 13 after showing symptoms of pneumonia.