Nation mourns death of great leader

Koreans mourned the death of Kim Dae-jung, the man credited with laying the foundations of democracy, freedom and peace on the peninsula.

National leaders spoke out to honor the former president and Nobel laureate and expressed condolences for his family.

Mourning throngs streamed into a hospital in Seoul where he died at 1:43 p.m.

"We lost a great political leader today. His accomplishments and aspirations to achieve democratization and inter-Korean reconciliation will long be remembered by the people," President Lee Myung-bak said in a statement.

"I hope that President Kim`s lifelong wishes will eventually be realized through reconciliation between the South and North and social integration."



His death brought a truce in Korea`s perennially feuding politics. All parties and civic groups put their differences aside in solemnly pledging to carry on his lofty wish of peace on the divided peninsula.

"We are not ready to bid farewell to you, who never yielded to dictators, tided the nation over the economic meltdown, made us aware that two Koreas, divided by hostility for half a century, belong to one nation," the opposition Democratic Party said.

The ruling Grand National Party praised his life devoted to democracy, human rights and the development of relations between South and North Korea.

News of his death sent a wave of sadness throughout the country.

In South Jeolla Province, his hometown, the flags were lowered to half-mast at government offices and public facilities. People with tears in theirs had their gaze fixed on TV screens as his death was reported.

Flowers, ribbons and letters of condolence were laid on makeshift altars set up by the provincial government and the Democratic Party. Swelling crowds gathered in pubic squares holding candles.

Some celebratory events and entertainment shows were canceled or scaled down nationwide.

The government even considered delaying the launch of the nation`s first space rocket, but decided to go ahead with it.

Internet sites were flooded with messages of mourning. Some portal services carried icons of chrysanthemums and black ribbons.

"I will never forget you and what you did for our country until my death," an anonymous person wrote on Daum`s bulletin board.

Kim`s life-long rival Kim Young-sam said that "a great man passed away." For more than three decades, the two democratic leaders united in fighting the military dictatorship but competed bitterly with each other to grab power.

Former strongman Chun Doo-hwan, under whose rule Kim was sentenced to death for resistance against the junta, expressed deep sadness.

"He led the decades of turbulent political life. I wish he may now rest in the heaven."

Last week, the nation witnessed a reconciliation of historical moment when the two former presidents visited the hospital.

Religious leaders of all faiths wished the repose of his soul. Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk hailed him as man of great faith who forgave and embraced all those who inflicted tremendous sufferings on him, including imprisonment, assassination attempts and a death penalty. Kim was a Catholic.

Major business associations remembered him as a leader who guided the nation through the financial crisis in late 1990s and laid the groundwork for the nation to emerges as an information technology powerhouse.

(jjhwang@heraldm.com)



By Hwang Jang-jin