By Park Si-soo
Kim Geun-tae, a prominent democracy activist and former presidential hopeful, died from a rare form of brain disease, Friday. He was 64.
He had been receiving intensive treatment for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) at Seoul National University Hospital, from early in the month.
“As the brain disease could not be cured, there were complications in the form of pneumonia and nephritis,” an aide said. He was in critical condition since Wednesday, the hospital said.
According to his aides, Kim suffered from Parkinson’s disease since 2007. Due to illness, Kim couldn’t attend his daughter’s wedding in early December.
He was often referred to as the “godfather” of the country’s democratization in the 1970s and 80s.
Kim, then an undergraduate at Seoul National University, stood at the forefront of demonstrations against the iron-fisted rule of former President Chun Doo-hwan’s military regime, during which he was arrested by notorious state intelligence agents and tortured with water and electric shocks for 15 days at a secret interrogation room in Seoul.
His aides believe the CVST is a long-term side effect of the torture.
While in prison, Kim received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and was designated as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
After being released in 1988, Kim was elected to the National Assembly in 1996. He won twice more, but lost in the 2008 elections. He had planned to run in the general elections in April next year.
Under the liberal presidency of Roh Moo-hyun, Kim served as health minister in 2004 and later served as head of the then ruling party. He was then widely viewed as one of the presidential hopefuls for the Uri Party, a predecessor of the main opposition Democratic Unity Party (DUP). His last political job was as advisor to the DUP.
Upon Kim’s death political parties offered deep condolences, expressing respect for his life-long fight for democracy against military dictatorship.
“While alive, Kim was living witness to the democratization of South Korea. Kim himself personified the history of democracy in this country,” said Oh Jong-sik, a DUP spokesman, in a statement. Kim is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.