[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23054]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 23054]]

  CONGRATULATING SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT KIM DAE JUNG FOR WINNING THE 
                           NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THOMAS M. DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 17, 2000

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
South Korean President Kim Dae Jung for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. 
The Nobel Committee announced the decision to award President Kim based 
on his ``moral strength'' to pursue democratic goals despite repeated 
threats on his life and long periods in exile.
  The Committee awarded President Kim with the Nobel Prize not only for 
his work in bringing democracy to South Korea, but for his efforts to 
reconcile South Korea with North Korea. To facilitate that goal, 
President Kim established the ``Sunshine Policy'' in an attempt to 
overcome more than fifty years of war and hostility between the two 
Korean nations. President Kim has said that his struggle against 
dictatorship was the greater achievement in his life. ``Democracy is 
most important. Only when we uphold human rights and freedom, is our 
struggle against communism meaningful,'' said President Kim.
  Born on December 3, 1925, President Kim was the second son of four. 
His father was a farmer on an island in the southwestern province of 
Cholla. President Kim was a good student and elected a leader of his 
high school class. However, he learned an early lesson about democracy 
when he was stripped of his position, after he published an essay 
condemning the Japanese colonial government that controlled Korea at 
that time. It would be the first of many sacrifices President Kim would 
make before being elected to lead South Korea.
  Prior to being elected, President Kim was jailed repeatedly by the 
government of South Korea. He has been placed under house arrest more 
than 55 times, and has survived many assassination attempts. He has 
been kidnapped by South Korean agents, sentenced to death by a military 
court for alleged treason following prodemocracy demonstrations, lived 
in exile in the United States, and returned to South Korea, before 
winning the Presidency in 1997.
  President Kim was credited with bringing South Korea back from the 
verge of financial collapse just a few years ago. He committed the 
country to strict reforms requested by the International Monetary Fund 
and by doing so, the South Korean economy has made significant strides 
in less than two years.
  President Kim's Sunshine Policy to engage North Korea has produced 
dramatic, historical results. On June 13 of this year, President Kim 
traveled to Pyongyang to meet with North Korean President Kim Jon Il. 
The summit opened the way for the first reunion between Korean family 
members, who had been separated by the Korean war and had not seen one 
another in 50 years.
  President Kim's personal courage and moral character are his 
foundation in times of adversity; and they have inspired generations of 
Koreans to keep their faith in freedom. As the Washington Post put it, 
``He helped prove that freedom is a universal value and democracy a 
universal desire, not limited by race, continent, or culture.'' I join 
my Korean-American constituents in congratulating President Kim on 
receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2000.

                          ____________________