hankyoreh

　Former President Kim Dae-jung is no longer with us. Ever since he began his difficult battle with illness, he steeled himself for this day to come eventually, but that day came too soon. Now even the earnest prayer that he might dust himself off, get out of his sickbed and remain with us as a light in a bewildering age has come to nothing. The country and the Korea people still need him desperately, but he has left forever on a road from which he cannot return. With two former presidents gone in the space of just a few months, there are no words to describe the grief suffered by those left behind.
　He was a giant who stood tall in Korea‘s modern history. Throughout his life, he devoted himself unwaveringly to this nation’s democracy and human rights, its peace and unification. The modifiers placed next to his name may have changed from time to time, from democracy fighter to opposition party head to president, but the values and spirit he pursued remained the same. Along the way, there were both successes and failures, and he went through some trial and error himself. But he was the rare politician who walked one path without wavering, through countless twists and turns of history, through whirlpools, hardship and honor.
　He was a leader who knew how to go beyond the trends of the times and take a broad view of history. He was also a leader who stood a step ahead of the times and constantly examined the future of the Korean people and the path ahead of them. Since his times as a dissident and as an opposition party politician, he stoically bided his time, fine-tuning his policy conception, and after he became president, he worked to make it a reality. Because of him, democracy in Korean society became more mature, and the horizons of human rights and welfare grew even broader. It was only during his time as leader that inter-Korean hostility, frozen solid for half a century, finally began to thaw. The scene in 2000 of him and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang, clasping hands and pledging a peaceful future for the Korean people, is an emotional moment that will forever remind in our minds. It was the precious fruit of his consistent determination and conviction that the way for the Korean people to survive was not through confrontation but conciliation, not hostility but cooperation. With this summit meeting, South and North Korea began writing a new history for the peninsula.
　He devoted more profound attention and passion than anyone else to the lowest reaches of society, the people who have suffered unjustly and bitterly. That our society went on to develop laws and institutions to offer greater consideration toward our neglected neighbors also owes a lot to him. His policies to respond to the demands of a changing society will go down in history as a precious asset to all of us, including the establishment of the Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths and the National Human Rights Commission, the enactment of the Act on Compensation and Restoration of Honor of Persons Involved in the Pro-Democracy Movement and the National Minimum Livelihood Protection Law, and the establishment of the Ministry of Gender Equality.
　His burning passion did not cool for a moment even as his life came to an end. Indeed, it burned even more brightly, like the last candle. As this nation‘s democracy, to which he dedicated his entire life, was once again in jeopardy and inter-Korean relations were racing toward unprecedented crisis, he brought his aged and infirm body once again before the public and made a sincere appeal. Let us bring back democracy, he said. Let us save the working class economy and improve inter-Korean relations once again. He urged awakening among the citizens, telling them that “a conscience that does not act is on the side of evil.” The topic of the last speech he prepared just before he passed away was the peaceful resolution of problems in inter-Korean relations. In a speech he was invited to give for the European Union Chamber of Commerce, he called on United States President Barack Obama to “make the courageous determination to put an end to antagonistic relations with North Korea.” It was none other than the late former President Kim Dae-jung who fought most fiercely to bring back democracy and restore inter-Korean relations even as he battled the demon of illness.
　Of course, he was neither a perfect human being nor a flawless politician. A number of dark shadows hang over his long political journey. He was a victim of the chronic regionalism that afflicts Korean society, but at the same time he could not escape criticism that he was a factor in it as well. Nor can he escape comments that he delayed advancement of the political culture with factional politics, boss politics and monarchical party management. Late in his term as president, his ethical reputation suffered a blow due to improprieties involving his sons and associates. While he was alive, he faced criticisms as much as praise. He was the target of both more centrist conservatives and hard-right forces, whose persistent attacks continued right up until his condition grew serious. Bernard Krisher, former Tokyo correspondent for the U.S. current affairs weekly Newsweek, said that only when Kim died would the Korean people realize what a great debt they really owe to him. Now the true judgment of his life and accomplishments is left to history.
　He is gone now. Gone forever, without getting to see democracy in fuller flower and peace flowing like a river between South and North. The task of realizing the dreams and hopes he could not is left now to others. Before being taken to the hospital, he said, “This nation’s democracy, the working class economy and inter-Korean relations are all in crisis. Now I am old and have no strength. What can I do?” It is now we who must answer his question.
　We once again lament the passing of former President Kim Dae-jung deep in our hearts and offer our earnest prayers for his happiness in the next world.