Legacy of Kim Dae-jung

Today the USC Korean Studies Institute published an interview I did regarding the legacy of former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung.

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Q: Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung died today at a hospital in Seoul, reportedly of heart failure and complications from pneumonia. He was 85 and remained engaged in politics until his death. How will he be remembered?

Leif-Eric Easley: Kim Dae-jung's administration helped stabilize the South Korean economy after the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s. But he will be remembered most for contributions to South Korean democratization and for the "Sunshine Policy" which sought political reconciliation and economic integration with North Korea. It was for these efforts that Kim won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000. His legacy was subsequently tarnished however, by revelations of political corruption involving his family and evidence that the landmark inter-Korean summit may have been "bought" via secret payments to Pyongyang. Kim's strategy of engaging North Korea, which was continued by his successor Roh Moo-hyun, was dealt a serious blow when North Korea tested a nuclear device in 2006 and over the years reneged on most agreements it made with Seoul. Nonetheless, former president Kim's efforts for democracy and North-South reconciliation have lasting effects and are a significant legacy.

Q: What does former president's Kim life say about South Korean politics?

Easley: A tremendous amount – the arc of Kim Dae-jung's life is closely tied to that of South Korean politics for the last five decades. It would be a gross over-simplification to only remember Kim Dae-jung as South Korea's president from 1998 to 2003. In the 1960s, Kim Dae-jung emerged on the national stage as President Park Chung-hee's archrival. The divide between these two men reflected and helped define the left-right divide in South Korean politics that persists to this day. Park was of the military and the South Korean elite; Kim was a product of and voice for the masses. Kim Dae-jung was a leading critic of Park Chung-hee's legitimacy (Park came to power in a military coup). Park jailed Kim as a political dissident and may have had him killed if not for U.S. intervention. Kim came from South Korea's southwest region, which has a strong rivalry with the southeast region, home to Park and other presidents. To their respective followers, Park embodied South Korea's rapid economic development while Kim embodied South Korea's democratization. Park was deeply suspicious of North Korea and wanted a strong South Korean military and economy to employ against it; Kim wanted to politically embrace North Korea and integrate the two economies as a step toward ultimately reunifying the Korean Peninsula.

Q: Mr. Kim's funeral will actually be the second this year for a South Korean leader?

Easley: Yes, and the death of a former president is a significant event in South Korea. The passing of former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-jung this year will likely mark 2009 as the end of a political era for many South Koreans. But while former President Kim Dae-jung will long be a controversial figure in South Korean history, his death of natural causes at age 85 is much less controversial than former President Roh Moo-hyun's suicide three months ago. Former President Roh was the immediate predecessor of the current president, Lee Myung-bak, and was under investigation for corruption charges. Roh's untimely death prompted a public outpouring of sympathy for him and criticism for the current government and its policies. Former President Kim Dae-jung's passing will certainly prompt a period of national mourning, but does not come as such a shock to the Korean public as did former president Roh's suicide.

Q: What implications might D.J. Kim's passing have for North-South Korean relations?

Easley: Perhaps as former President Clinton's visit to Pyongyang provided 'face' for North Korea to adjust its tone toward the United States, public reflection of Kim Dae-jung's life may help provide the political packaging for a new South Korean attempt to talk with the North. While it is not realistic to expect a generous memorial for Kim to forge a grand compromise between South Korean conservatives and progressives on policy toward North Korea, Kim's passing may provide symbolic impetus for some form of reengagement with Pyongyang. Since coming to office last year, the current South Korean president has been rebuffed by Pyongyang as hawkish and disingenuous. But President Lee Myung-bak is making a renewed effort to engage North Korea based on reciprocity, offering humanitarian aid and economic assistance if both sides reduce conventional military deployments along their shared border and if North Korea recommits to dismantling its nuclear weapons program.

Q: Is there any sign that North Korea will respond in a constructive manner?

Easley: North Korea has sent condolences to the South and may ask to send a delegation to former president Kim Dae-jung's funeral. Pyongyang recently received a visit by Hyun Jeong-eun, the chairwoman of Hyundai Group, and released a Hyundai employee held for months on charges that he made inappropriate political statements while in North Korea. There is talk of restarting South Korean tourism to the Mt. Kumgang resort in North Korea and resuming inter-Korean family reunions. However, United Nations mandated sanctions on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs remain in place and are still only in the process of being implemented. Ultimately, you should expect Pyongyang to act according to its interpretation of its own interests. The regime of Kim Jong-il appears focused on securing a stable internal political succession and externally promoting North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. The coming months will be an important period for international efforts aimed at persuading North Korea that its open economic development and complete nuclear disarmament are in everyone's interests.