- This is a Korean name; the family name is Kim.
Kim Young-sam (b. December 20, 1927 in Geoje, South Gyeongsang) was the President of South Korea from February 25, 1993 to February 25, 1998.
Life
Kim graduated from Seoul National University in 1952 with a B.A. in philosophy, and served in the South Korean armed forces during the Korean War. In 1954 he was elected to the National Assembly of South Korea and served nine terms representing districts in Geoje and Busan. He was the youngest ever to serve in the National Assembly.
He resigned his National Assembly seat (though he later returned) when Syngman Rhee attempted to amend the constitution of South Korea and became a leading critic, with Kim Dae-jung, of the military governments of Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo-hwan. He was expelled from the National Assembly for his democratic activities and banned from politics from 1980 to 1985. In 1983, he undertook a 21-day hunger strike protesting the dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan.
When the first democratic presidential election was held in 1987 after Chun's retirement, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung ran against each other, splitting the opposition vote and enabling ex-general Roh Tae-woo, Chun's hand-picked successor, to win the election. In 1990, he unexpectedly merged his Peaceful Democracy Party with Roh's ruling D.J.P. (Democratic Justice Party). As the candidate of the center, he defeated Kim Dae-jung in the December 18, 1992 presidential election. He was only the third civilian to hold the office, and the first since 1960.
Kim Young-sam attempted to reform the government and economy. One of his first acts was to start an anti-corruption campaign, requiring government and military officials to publish their financial records, precipitating the resignation of several high-ranking officers and cabinet members. He had Chun and Roh arrested on charges of corruption and treason, winning convictions against both. Kim also granted amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, and removed the criminal convictions of pro-democracy protesters who had been arrested during the Gwangju massacre in the aftermath of the Coup d'état of December Twelfth (which is now officially described as a mutiny).
The anti-corruption campaign was also part of an attempt to reform the chaebol, the large South Korean conglomerates which dominated the economy. However, implication of corruption on the part of his second son, led to a loss of confidence; his new ministerial party, the D.L.P. lost its narrow majority in the National Assembly in 1996. Kia Motors collapsed soon thereafter, setting off a chain of events which embroiled South Korea in the 1997 Asian financial crisis during the last year of his tenure.
After his presidency, Kim promoted democracy throughout the world, speaking at events such as "Towards a Global Forum on New Democracies" in Taiwan in January 2007.
Personal life
Kim is a member of the Chunghyun Presbyterian Church [1].
See also
References
External links
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