Korean History - Main Page
The Kim Dae-jung Administration
With the inauguration of Kim Dae-jung to fill the 15th
presidential term on February 25, 1998, the era of the Government of the People
dawned- an era in which all the People can participate as the master of the
nation. In his inaugural speech, President Kim, urging the nation to overcome
the national crisis and make a new leap forward, said it was the day when the
first democratic transition of power had been realized. He called his
Administration "the Government of the People," and declared that he
intended to push democratization and a free market economy in parallel.
President Kim said his Administration would overcome the
economic crisis through reform, undertake a spiritual revolution valuing the
rights of the individual, pursue educational reform, and liquidate the Cold-War
style confrontational relationship with the North. He enunciated his intention
to realize participatory democracy in which all people would take part and
control politics. Facing the greatest national crisis since the Korean War,
President Kim said the nation was being asked to shed sweat and tears once again
and to overcome the crisis without fail and as soon as possible through reform
and by sharing pain.
The December 18, 1997 presidential election was deeply
significant in that it signaled the first transition of power from the ruling to
an opposition party in 50 years. It was a kind of election revolution achieved
through the ardent wishes of the Korean people who eagerly anticipated the
dawning of a new age. News media around the world described the inauguration as
the day genuine democracy began in Korea and said President Kim was a
world-class leader who could lead his nation out of crisis and rebuild it.
From the day after his election, President Kim began to work
vigorously to help the nation overcome the economic crisis. He formed the
Tripartite Committee of representatives from labor, management and the
Government and restructured the Government reducing the number of civil
servants. In this way, the Government took the lead in national efforts to share
pain. He also urged foreigners to invest in Korea and is now pushing economic
reform including restructuring of corporations in order for them to strengthen
their competitiveness. The people are hoping that democracy will develop in
parallel with a free market economy. They also hope that they will realize a
society where upright and able men and women can succeed and grand national
reconciliation be achieved by wiping out regionalism and discrimination. In
short, they hope that the Koreans can become a leading people on the world stage
and a reliable partner in the international community.
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Information provided by the
Korean Embassy
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