Former South Korean president Kim Young
-sam remembered as reformer and anti-corruption campaigner after dying aged 87
Kim persuaded US against bombing the North's nuclear facilities but was also criticized for his handling of the economy.
Kim Young-sam
1927-2015
Former President Kim Young-sam, who formally ended decades of military rule in South Korea and accepted a massive international bailout during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, has died. He was 87.
The chief of Seoul National University Hospital, Oh Byung-hee, said that Kim died there early yesterday. He said Kim is believed to have suffered from a severe blood infection and acute heart failure before he died.
Kim led South Koreans in a movement against military dictatorships before he rose to the presidency in 1993. He was succeeded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kim Dae-jung in 1998 in the ｃountry's first peaceful transfer of power.
Kim Young-sam said after stepping down as president that he had helped convince the US government of Bill Clinton not to attack North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex in 1994. Kim said he feared such a strike would provoke a full-scale war.
Former US President Jimmy Carter arranged a meeting between Kim Young-sam and then-North Korean leader Kim Il-sung when he flew to Pyongyang to defuse the crisis that year. Kim Il-sung died just before the summit could take place. North Korea continued to cause security jitters for rival South Korea during Kim's presidency. In 1996, a North Korean submarine ran aground off South Korea's eastern shores.
The North later expressed its "deep regret" for the intrusion that left 24 North Korean agents and 13 South Koreans dead.
It was an unprecedented apology from the North - though it said the sub drifted into southern waters while on a routine training exercise.
Upon taking office, Kim Young-sam launched a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown and disbanded a group of influential military officers. He also had his two predecessors, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, indicted on treason and mutiny charges for their involvement in a coup and bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters in Gwangju in 1980. Chun and Roh were later pardoned during a national unity campaign.
Kim's popularity nosedived after some of South Korea's biggest companies collapsed during the Asian financial crisis in 1997, prompting the ｃountry to seek emergency aid through the International Monetary Fund.
During his term he also saw his son arrested on charges of bribery and tax evasion, dealing a blow to his legacy as an anti-corruption fighter.
The government will prepare Kim's funeral with respect and sends its deepest condolences to Kim's family, President Park Geun-hye said.
Kim was born into a rich fishing family on December 20, 1927, in Geoge Island off the south-eastern tip of the Korean peninsula when the ｃountry was still under Japanese colonial rule. During the Korean war, he anchored a defense ministry propaganda radio program.
In 1954, Kim was elected as the youngest member of the National Assembly. At that time, he was a member of the ruling party of the late Syngman Rhee, South Korea's first president.
But a few months later, he broke with the ruling party in protest over a constitutional revision and joined the opposition party, drawing anger from military rulers. He was expelled from parliament in 1979 for leading protests against President Park Chung-hee, father of current President Park.
Military security chief Chun took over in a coup after Park Chung-hee died and Kim was placed under house arrest twice under the military junta jointly led by Roh, who became the ｃountry's president after Chun.
Kim parted ways with his opposition ally Kim Dae-jung when he joined forces with Roh in 1992 as a stepping stone to his presidency.
Kim is survived by his wife and two sons and three daughters.
Article Source: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/1881803/former-south-korean-president-kim-young-sam-remembered-reformer
Image Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/2282506/1448128784000/large16x9/768/432/then-south-korean.jpg
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Bailout (n./ informal) ~ an act of giving financial assistance to a failing business or economy to save it from collapse
2. Jitter (n.) ~ feelings of extreme nervousness
3. Intrusion (n.) ~ the act of putting oneself deliberately into a place or situation where one is unwelcome or uninvited
4. Nosedive (v.) ~ to have a steep downward plunge
5. Legacy (n.) ~ something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past
6. House arrest (n.) ~ the state of being kept as a prisoner in one's own house, rather than in a prison
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Tell me what you know about the life of Former President Kim Young-sam.
2. What do you think are his contributions to the development of your ｃountry?
3. Do you consider him as a good leader? Discuss your answer.
4. What do you think is his greatest legacy?
