He was succeeded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kim Dae Jung in 1998 in the country’s first peaceful transfer of power.
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Kim was a major player in South Korea’s rise to democracy.
In 1979, Mr Kim was expelled from the assembly for his anti-government activities, shortly before then president Park Chung-hee – who seized power in a military coup in 1961 – was assassinated by his intelligence chief. Riots and protests ensued, and all 66 opposition members of the assembly resigned.
A leading figure in the pro-democracy movement, Kim was twice placed under house arrest for a total of two years in the early 1980s. Kim staged a 23-day hunger strike that helped his return to politics.
“We have created a truly civilian government”.
South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Cho June-hyuck said at a press briefing on Thursday ‘On Secretary General Ban’s plans to visit North Korea aside from the remarks made by the United Nations spokesman there is nothing more we have to say on this’. 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.
Ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung wept at the wake and said, “My heart aches so much”.
As president, he led South Korea in 1994 when President Bill Clinton’s administration was considering attacking Nyongbyon – home to North Korea’s nuclear complex – north of communist North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang.
Analysts said denuclearization and North Korea’s human rights situation would be the most pressing issues for Ban to raise if he meets Kim Jong-un.
The crisis was eventually defused.
North Korea warned on Sunday of “merciless” attacks on South Korean border islands if Seoul stages live-fire drills on Monday near the maritime border on the anniversary of Pyongyang’s deadly shelling attack five years ago.
Kim’s anti-graft drive was later tarnished after his son was arrested on charges of bribery and tax evasion.
Other Kim aides were implicated in a scandal over dubious loans to a failed steel company, putting several close associates in jail.
His family, including second son Kim Hyun-chul, a professor at Kookmin University, stood by his deathbed.
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Kim was credited with disbanding a key military faction and bringing transparency to the South’s financial system.
