Nobel Peace Prize Citation Text
Associated Press
Text of the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize citation:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2000 to Kim Dae-jung for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular.

In the course of South Korea's decades of authoritarian rule, despite repeated threats on his life and long periods in exile, Kim Dae-jung gradually emerged as his country's leading spokesman for democracy. His election in 1997 as the republic's president marked South Korea's definitive entry among the world's democracies. As president, Kim Dae-jung has sought to consolidate democratic government and to promote internal reconciliation within South Korea.

With great moral strength, Kim Dae-jung has stood out in East Asia as a leading defender of universal human rights against attempts to limit the relevance of those rights in Asia. His commitment in favor of democracy in Burma and against repression in East Timor has been considerable.

Through his "sunshine" policy, Kim Dae-jung has attempted to overcome more than fifty years of war and hostility between North and South Korea. His visit to North Korea gave impetus to a process which has reduced tension between the two countries. There may now be hope that the Cold War will also come to an end in Korea. Kim Dae-jung has worked for South Korea's reconciliation with other neighboring countries, especially Japan.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to express its recognition of the contributions made by North Korea's and other countries' leaders to advance reconciliation and possible reunification on the Korean peninsula.

 

South Koreans Thrilled About Nobel Peace Prize
Associated Press
October 13, 2000

Fireworks illuminated Seoul's sky after President Kim Dae-jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. Villagers danced and drank in the island town where he was born.

Staff at a giant Seoul bookstore placed his photograph in a frame that had been kept empty for years in case a Korean won the Nobel. Kim's image joined those of other prize-winners on the wall.

Kim, a lifetime crusader for human rights and democracy, fulfilled a national dream: the first Nobel prize for a Korean. Many hoped the prize would accelerate his quest for peace on the divided Korean peninsula.

``It's an honor that will not come again. I am only thankful,'' Kim was quoted as saying by his spokesman, Park Joon-young.

``Today's honor is due to public support for democracy, human rights, peace, reconciliation and cooperation between South and North Korea during the past 40 years.''

 People cheered and clapped around large television screens at bus terminals and railway stations when Kim's name was announced.

All television networks broke from regular programming to report the news live from Oslo, Norway. Early Saturday editions of all newspapers splashed front-page banner headlines with the award.

``I felt my body electrified with sheer joy when I heard the announcement. I had prayed for him to get the award. I am so happy,'' said Lim Ki-soo, 45, a construction worker.

The villagers at Ha Eui Do, a far-flung island off the southwest coast where Kim was born into a fisherman's family 76 years ago, beat gongs and drums late into the night.

Television footage showed the weather-beaten fishermen raising their arms as they chanted: ``Hurrah!''

 North Korea's state-controlled media did not immediately report the news of Kim's prize.

Kim won for his efforts to reconcile with North Korea, which registered dramatic success in June when he held a summit with the North's communist leader, Kim Jong Il.

The opposition Grand National Party, which has accused Kim of being too soft on North Korea by giving grain and other aid to the communist government, grudgingly congratulated Kim.

Kim has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize annually since 1987, and he was considered a front-runner this year.

Hopes and speculation ran so rampantly in Seoul that the Korean Federation of Industries, a lobbying group for big business, issued a congratulatory statement for Kim hours before the Oslo announcement.

Kim has pushed the so-called ``sunshine'' policy of seeking greater contact with North Korea.

South and North Korea, foes on the battlefield a half-century ago, have warmed to each other more in the last few months than in more than a generation. Their armies remain locked in a standoff across a sealed border, but the threat of war has diminished.

Some South Koreans said the Nobel committee should also have recognized North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who has embarked on a vigorous campaign of international diplomacy this year after years of isolation.

``It would have been better for Kim Jong Il to share the prize,'' said Oh Si-young, a 24-year-old student. ``It would have been better for peace on the Korean Peninsula.''

Many remain bitter toward Kim Jong Il, citing his role as leader of a totalitarian regime and alleged perpetrator of terrorist acts during the 1980s.

Copyright Associated Press

 

A Day of Glory for Kim DJ, Humiliation for YS
Korea Times
October 15, 2000
By Choe Sang-hun Associated Press Writer

It was a day of glory for President Kim Dae-jung. But for his lifetime critic and predecessor, former President Kim Young-sam, it was a day of humiliation. While the nation was rejoicing the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Kim on Friday, Kim Young-sam was sitting in his car for 14 hours in a chill autumn night outside a Seoul university, where students blocked him from delivering a scheduled lecture. Ending the standoff with students yelling ``Go away!'' Kim Young-sam returned home early Saturday--but not without venting his anger at the president and the Nobel Committee.

``It is total nonsense that Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize. The prestige of Nobel prizes has dropped to the bottom,'' Kim was quoted by his spokesman, Park Jong-woong, as saying.

The barbs illustrated the intensity of the jealous rivalry that exists between the two Kims, living symbols of South Korea's long struggle for democracy.  But they said as much about the divisive domestic political environment the President Kim must overcome to win a strong mandate to push his quest for peace with communist North Korea.

The Nobel Committee said it awarded the prize to Kim Dae-jung for easing the Cold War-era conflict on the divided Korean Peninsula. But like Kim Young-sam, many conservatives still accuse the president of granting too much aid and other concessions to please Pyongyang while failing to extract solid tension-reducing measures, such as arms reductions, from the hard-line Stalinist regime.

For decades, Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam were opposition leaders and favorites among students for their struggles against the country's past military-backed governments. But throughout their torturous careers as fiery opposition leaders dedicated to democracy, they also competed against each other to become president. Their rivalry was so deep that they failed to field a single opposition candidate and divided the antimilitary vote in free elections in 1987. As a result, former general Roh Tae-woo won that vote, extending military-dominated rule for five more years.

 Kim Young-sam returned, however, to beat Kim Dae-jung to win the 1992 poll. But when he left office in early 1998 after a five-year term, his popularity was at rock bottom. During his rule, South Korea's economy virtually collapsed amid the Asian financial turmoil. The country had to accept a record dlrs 58 billion bailout fund from the International Monetary Fund.