White House Saved Kim’s Life in 1981

Reagan’s Top Aide Talks About Friendship With Kim Dae-jung

By Ines Min
Contributing Writer

Richard V. Allen, former national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan, didn't think much of former President Kim Dae-jung when he first heard about him in 1979.

``I knew what was known generally in the West about Kim: a dissident from Gwangju who had been involved in what was labeled an insurrection,'' Allen said, referring to the Gwangju Pro-democracy Movement in 1980.

During that time, Allen had been campaigning with Reagan for the presidency and Korea was ``one of 185 problems that we had in relationships.'' However, Allen came to play an important role in saving Kim's life when he was arrested on charges of sedition after the uprising and rumors of plans to execute him arose.

``The Carter administration pleaded with me to become involved,'' Allen recounted, in order to help save Kim's life. At that time he declined the request, because the timing fell in the transition period between the waning Carter administration and Reagan's inauguration on Jan. 20, 1981. He deferred to the longstanding U.S. tradition of following only one presidential power at a time, which left him unable to interfere.

President-elect Reagan had also promised not to become involved in the incumbent administration's matters of foreign policy and decision-making, further cementing the national security advisor's position.

Then-President Chun Doo-hwan, who had taken the South Korean presidency in a military coup d'etat, was apparently waiting for a move on the U.S. government's part and action needed to be taken. Due to soured relations between the Carter administration and South Korea, President Carter was unable to improve situations on behalf of the well-known but imprisoned Kim.

Allen became inextricably tied to the situation when he was approached directly by Korean officials with an affirmation of Kim's execution sentence ― a punishment that was, until that point, still a rumor.

He consulted Reagan, who asked him to ``handle it in my own way,'' Allen said, although he gives full credit to the president for saving Kim's life.

``It was a very high-risk undertaking,'' Allen said. ``It was not unlike a stick of dynamite that was burning on the fuse. It had to be handled very carefully.''

Meetings with Korean officials moved forward discreetly, in order to prevent political clashes while remaining consistent with Reagan's wish to keep Kim alive, Allen explained.

From the beginning, Allen advised the Koreans not to proceed with their plans. When asked why, he said, ``If you do, it would be like a bolt of lightning out of the heavens that will strike you.''

The bold statement was enough to open negotiations for a more lenient sentence for Kim. Initially, Chun wanted a weaker punishment in exchange for attendance at Reagan's presidential inauguration, Allen said.

``That was when I knew I had gained the upper hand,'' he said. ``Because it was a silly, ignorant mistake.''

Traditionally, no heads of state have ever attended the inauguration of the U.S. president because it is strictly a private affair, Allen said. The security advisor compromised, instead offering that Chun could be received at the White House.

At first, Chun wanted Kim to still serve life in prison, an offer that was ``unacceptable'' to Allen and Reagan. He later lowered the charge again to exile, which was officially labeled as ``going abroad for medical treatment,'' according to Allen.

Kim used the opportunity to become a professor at Harvard University and was allowed to return to Korea several years after the incident.

During his time in ``exile,'' news of Chun's visit to the White House spread and was met with much criticism. Allen felt it was predominantly due to people's misconceptions of the matter.

``(His) was an official visit; it was nothing more than that. It was not a state visit nor was he given a state dinner or any other trappings,'' he said. ``I made sure of that.''

Other criticisms were based on the belief that Chun was the first foreign head of state to visit the White House during the Reagan administration, granting him a sort of special recognition. Allen arranged the meetings, however, so that Chun would not be the first, but the second visitor, following the prime minister of Jamaica.

The secretive nature of the exchange for Kim's life prevented the truth from being leaked, which led to Kim openly criticizing Reagan for ``coddling dictators,'' such as Chun.

``So some years later, not even having met Kim Dae-jung in the first place, it occurred to me on one of my many visits to Korea that I should go to see him and straighten him out,'' Allen said.

The former security advisor made a trip to Yeouido to meet Kim and his political party, to speak with him personally on the matter. After the details were relayed, Allen said the former president asked, surprised, if the story was true.

After reconfirming, Allen was asked to visit his office the next day and the story was told publicly to the press.

``He sat next to me and was really straightforward,'' Allen said. ``I really admire that kind of courage. Instead of perpetuating a myth, he obviously wanted to destroy it.''

From there, Allen and Kim maintained a friendly relationship through politics and other affairs. Allen visited Kim during his house arrest, prior to his presidential election in 1997. Afterward, he was invited as a personal guest to the Blue House on the evening of Kim's inauguration, where the president first announced his Sunshine Policy for North Korea. Allen also supported fundraisers during Kim's campaign.

On a visit to the United States during his presidency, Kim personally gave his regards to an already sick Reagan at his home, based on Allen's recommendation.

``It was very generous for President Kim to do that,'' Allen said. It ``shows the quality of the man,'' and Nancy Regan was ``deeply and emotionally grateful'' for the visit, he said.

Allen, who came to South Korea specifically to give Kim his regards Monday, said he was able to speak with Kim's wife, Lee Hee-ho, for about half an hour. It was a ``nice, long meeting,'' he said, calling Lee a ``very sweet lady.''

Although Kim's political policies were not always in complete agreement with Allen's, the former security advisor said it did not get between them.

"We had differences in the end, but differences about political matters ― and policy matters should never overtake the human."

Who Is Richard V. Allen?
Richard V. Allen was the former national security advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1981 and 1982. He also served under President Richard Nixon as chief foreign policy advisor and deputy national security advisor. He is currently a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a research think tank for domestic policy and international affairs. He first came to South Korea after the attempted assassination of President Park Chung-hee and has visited the country on more than 100 occasions subsequently. Allen is a co-chair for the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (hrnk.org) with Stephen J. Solarz, a former U.S. Congressional Representative.

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