Thomas More Kim Dae-jung, a Man of Faith

Pino Cazzaniga eulogizes the late South Korean dissident and president — Kim Dae-jung: Catholic conscience in political action:

Michael Breen, a columnist for The Korea Times wrote: "Kim Dae Jung, as a Catholic, believed in forgiveness and reconciliation. This is why as president he pardoned two of his predecessors convicted for their role in the brutal repression of the democratic uprising in Kwangju in 1980”. The life and activities of Kim do not reveal their true greatness if read without reference to his Christian faith.

Kim was not born a Catholic. He was baptized at 35, in 1960, when, hurt and confused by the sudden death of his first wife, he met in Seoul John Chang Myon, a politician appointed prime minister that year, who on discovering his qualities urged Kim to continue his political career. But Kim, in turn, found in his mentor, a fervent Catholic and father of John Chang-yik, the current bishop of Ch'unch'on, the splendour of the Faith, which from then onwards illuminated and supported him on the via crucis he was to travel.

Media have expounded on one of the milestones in the many crosses he was to bear. In 1963, intelligence agents of the South Korean dictator Park Chung-he kidnapped him in a hotel in Tokyo and loaded on a boat to throw him overboard at sea. When the kidnappers, snickering, tied his feet to cement boulders, Kim fervently prayed to Jesus' Christ to save him and then he said, he saw Him. At exactly the same moment a large American helicopter swooped down on the boat. The captors, understanding they were caught, gave up on their criminal intent. President Ronald Reagan, informed by counter spies, ordered the rescue in extremis.

Almost like a farewell salute to the late president of the Catholic community, Bishop Peter Kang, president of the Korean Catholic bishops' conference drew up a declaration which states: "The late President Thomas More Kim Dae-jung throughout his lifetime put into practise these words of the Lord: ‘But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream’ (Amos 5:24). He travelled the journey of justice and peace without being discouraged by the many political repression and threats to his life and was committed to democracy and reconciliation of the two Koreas”.