[Editorial] Kim Dae-jung’s legacy of peace must live on

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi hold a summit in Tokyo in October 1998. (Hankyoreh archives)

As of Aug. 18, the 10th anniversary of the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung is here. Although the current political climate is so harsh that the image of opposition politicians getting together, in a rare show of unity, to pay their respects seems unfamiliar, it is a sign of how pronounced the legacy of Kim is. Current President Moon Jae-in uploaded a tribute on Facebook that said he is "thinking back on the genuine courage it took to be fearful of history" and promised to "show [the deceased] a peaceful and prosperous peninsula, together with the South Korean people." At the memorial service held at the Seoul National Cemetery that day, not only did ruling party figures such as Speaker of the National Assembly Moon Hee-sang, Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon commemorate former President Kim, Liberty Party Korea leader Hwang Kyo-an also said that, "I sincerely hope that we can all come together as one in upholding former President Kim's great will."

Kim left a large footprint on the development of peace and democracy on the peninsula. Although the mood of peace and reconciliation that produced the first ever inter-Korean summit and the June 15 Joint Declaration 19 years ago had its difficulties, the three inter-Korean summits, the two North Korea-US summits, and the South Korea-North Korea-US Panmunjom meeting that have happened in the Moon era showed that it has become a force that cannot be stopped. Despite delays caused by the recent missile tests by North Korea, the overall march of peace toward peace and denuclearization on the peninsula is continuing. Although tourism to Mt. Kumkang and operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex have not yet resumed, North and South Korea have taken a step forward in easing tensions with a military agreement. While the domestic and foreign Cold War establishment is still standing in the way, the South Korean people are no longer so easily swayed by such regressions.

The current moment, marked by South Korea-Japan tensions suggestive of a trade war, reminds us of the Kim Dae-jung-Keizo Obuchi declaration. The South Korea-Japan Joint Partnership Declaration, symbolized by then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi’s official “apology” for historical wrongs and by the opening of South Korea to Japanese popular culture, was regarded as a groundbreaking declaration that significantly elevated South Korea-Japan relations. As Kim's then Chief of Staff Kim Han-jung said in an interview with the Hankyoreh, "The far-right establishment in Japan, represented by Abe, have destroyed all the progress made by Obuchi and Koizumi", which goes without saying is the root cause of today’s trade war. Using China's rise and North Korea's nuclear weapons as their pretext, far-right groups in Japan like the Nippon Kaigi (Japan Conference) are going back on past “apologies” for historical wrongs and are revising history textbooks as they push for a constitutional amendment that is headed toward becoming a "country that can engage in war."

Current times are in desperate need of former Kim's wisdom and experience, with which he called for "the critical mind of a Confucian scholar" and "the pragmatism of a merchant" in taking small steps forward.

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