[Politics That Day] Words Left by Former President Kim Dae-jung 24 Years Ago at the Federation of Freedom Associations

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Editor's Note‘Politics, That Day…’ is a series planning corner that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to noteworthy scenes, events, or figures.

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s message at the Korea Freedom Federation last month on the 28th stirred up a whirlwind in the Yeouido political circle. The opposition parties showed discomfort, while the ruling party viewed it as speaking their mind. President Yoon’s message was aimed at the Moon Jae-in administration. The tone of President Yoon’s message was strong.

“Distorted historical consciousness and irresponsible national views held by anti-state forces requested the UN Security Council to lift sanctions on the North Korean communist group that is advancing its nuclear armament, and sang praises for a declaration of the end of the war that would dismantle the UN Command.”

The Korea Freedom Federation is a representative conservative pro-government organization. The focus of attention is the background of the sitting president attending there. It is unusual for a sitting president to attend the Korea Freedom Federation’s founding anniversary event. This did not happen during the terms of former Presidents Moon Jae-in, Park Geun-hye, Lee Myung-bak, or Roh Moo-hyun.

The president’s attendance at the Korea Freedom Federation event is the first in 24 years since 1999.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a congratulatory speech at the 69th anniversary ceremony of the Korea Freedom Federation held on June 28 at Jangchung Gymnasium in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

With the sitting president attending the Korea Freedom Federation event for the first time in 24 years, the story of the last president who attended the Korea Freedom Federation anniversary event in 1999 also became a subject of interest. At that time, the president was politician Kim Dae-jung.

Former President Kim Dae-jung had a complicated relationship with the Korea Freedom Federation. He was a political heavyweight who had been a major figure in Korean politics since the 1970s and a representative figure who suffered from accusations of being pro-communist. In the context of the division of North and South Korea, the stigma of such accusations was a heavy burden for politicians.

Conservative pro-government organizations, including the Korea Freedom Federation, had been critical of former President Kim Dae-jung. However, after his victory in the 1997 presidential election and the launch of Kim Dae-jung’s ‘Government of the People’ in February 1998, the relationship changed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The direction of the Korea Freedom Federation’s activities inevitably changed. The founding event of the Korea Freedom Federation, which former President Kim Dae-jung personally attended on March 31, 1999, was held as the ‘National Great Harmony and One Heart Rally.’

At this event, former President Kim Dae-jung delivered the following message.

“I want to tell you that there will never be a time when security is used for political purposes or when the activities of civilian organizations are mobilized for political objectives as in the past.”

This was a pledge that the nationwide organization of the Korea Freedom Federation would not be used for election purposes. In particular, former President Kim Dae-jung emphasized the effectiveness of the policy of engagement with North Korea at this event.

On the afternoon of January 14, at the 5·18 Memorial Culture Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju, former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won is giving a special lecture commemorating the 99th anniversary of former President Kim Dae-jung's birth.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

“Through the policy of engagement with North Korea, we must give what is necessary such as North Korea’s stability, economic recovery, and normalization of diplomatic relations with the U.S. and Japan, and receive what we should by making North Korea give up missile and nuclear weapons development and military provocations against the South. This is the comprehensive solution approach that the ‘Government of the People’ aims for. Only through such a comprehensive solution can the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula that has lasted for 50 years be effectively ended.”

The commonality between 1999 and 2023 is that both were periods one year before general elections. In 1999, former President Kim Dae-jung attended, and in 2023, President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the Korea Freedom Federation event. Both showed differences in the messages of the Korea Freedom Federation as much as the ideological identities of their respective political parties.

President Yoon expressed criticism toward the push for a declaration of the end of the war, while former President Kim Dae-jung emphasized ending the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula. Although their views differed, the fact that the messages at the Korea Freedom Federation had a significant impact on the political landscape is a commonality.