Kim Dae-jung
(1925-)

15th President of South Korea
"The Nelson Mandela of Asia"
1981 Bruno Kreisky Prize for Human Rights
2000 Rafto Prize for Human Rights
2000 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
2001 Defender of Democracy Award

birthdate: December 3
birthplace:
Hugwangri, South Cholla, South Korea

Kim Dae-jung was the president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts to work for peace between North and South Korea. From the beginning, his political career was quite turbulent. He got into politics because he was a strong believer in democracy and his country's government in the late 1950s was becoming less and less democratic. Three days after he was elected to the parliament in 1961, there was a military coup and the parliament was dissolved. Over the next 35 years he struggled as an opposition leader with three failed election bids for president. He survived repeated arrests, a kidnapping, beatings, at least 5 attempts on his life, exile and a death sentence before finally being elected as president at the age of 72. His inauguration as president was the first time that power was peacefully transferred to a democratically elected opposition party in South Korea. When he took office, his nation was facing a severe economic crisis, and he quickly enacted economic reforms to save the country from bankruptcy. He also started a policy of talks and negotiations between South and North Korea, which was called the Sunshine Policy. In 2000 he and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il met in the first-ever presidential summit between North Korean and South Korean leaders. For this dramatic step towards peace and reconciliation, and for his lifetime of work for democracy and human rights, Kim Dae-jung received the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize.

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