Ex-First Lady Had Profound Influence on DJ
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Former President Kim Dae-jung (1924-2009) often stated that one of the major turning points in his life was his marriage to Lee Hee-ho in 1962.
For 47 years, Lee gave spiritual guidance, trust and love to a man who endured extreme oppression as a democracy and human rights activist before becoming the nation's 15th President in 1998.
``Firmly rooted in her faith and convinced that she can and must help the underprivileged and persecuted, she supported her husband in public but even more so in a hidden way by constantly providing assurance and peace of mind," said Werner Phennig of the Free University of Berlin, Germany, in an introduction to her 1997 autobiography ``My Love, My Country."
An Unlikely Match
At the time of their wedding, Lee was a 39-year-old and secretary-general of the Korean Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), a movement of women working for social and economic change.
The union came shortly after Kim's election to the National Assembly had been nullified by the military coup of 1961 led by Park Chung-hee.
``From the very beginning of our marriage, we encountered many difficulties. My husband was arrested only seven days after our wedding," Lee recounted in a TV interview shortly after Kim's presidential inauguration in 1998.
Theirs was an unlikely match at first because of the differences in their backgrounds.
Kim came from a humble farming family and was largely self-taught.
Lee, on the other hand, was among a rare breed of female intellectuals who had received an American education after the 1950-53 Korean War.
``He was a voracious reader. I was drawn to his convictions, magnanimity and charm. Despite strong objections from my family and friends, my mind was attracted to him and I decided to marry him," she wrote.
``Marrying a politician, I never imagined that I was destined to cross breathlessly so many painful and difficult hills and valleys of political hardship because of my husband."
Devout Followers of Catholic Faith
As soul mates and partners for 47 years, the former first couple shared a firm belief in the power of religious faith to help them in their most difficult times.
Kim was converted to Catholicism under the influence of former Prime Minister Chang Myon (John M. Chang) of the Second Republic. Chang was a devout Catholic who believed in Catholic action to rectify ``many evils in Korea."
Kim often stated that it was his Catholic belief and support from his wife that sustained him during the worst crises.
In a letter dated Nov. 21, 1980, to her husband who was in military prison after being sentenced to death earlier by the High Military Court of the Chun Doo-hwan regime, Lee comforted her husband with these words.
``Never in our lives have we had to face such a serious crisis as today. However, I am convinced more than ever that the ordeal which you have to endure today is, in fact, special evidence of God's love."
At his deathbed this week, Lee prayed to God to bring the unconscious Kim ``back to his family one more time."
Joint Promotion of Women's Rights
Lee was born into a comfortable medical doctor's family in 1922. After finishing her primary and high school education in Seoul, Lee, a Methodist, graduated in 1950 from the College of Education of Seoul National University.
She then studied sociology at Lambuth College in Jackson, Tenn., and received her M.A. in sociology from Scarritt College in Nashville, in 1958.
Lee became a lecturer in the Department of Social Work of Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
Due to her influence, Kim showed particular attention to the promotion of women's rights, founding the Ministry of Gender Equality during his presidency from 1998 to 2003.