Kim Young-sam

Kim Young-sam
김영삼
金泳三
Official portrait, 1993
7th President of South Korea
In office
25 February 1993 – 24 February 1998
Prime MinisterHwang In-sung
Lee Hoi-chang
Lee Yung-dug
Lee Hong-koo
Lee Soo-sung
Goh Kun
Preceded byRoh Tae-woo
Succeeded byKim Dae-jung
President of the New Korea Party
In office
28 August 1992 – 30 September 1997
Preceded byRoh Tae-woo
Succeeded byLee Hoi-chang
President of the Reunification Democratic Party
In office
12 May 1988 – 22 January 1990
Preceded byKim Myung-yoon
Succeeded byOffice abolished
(party merger into DLP)
In office
1 May 1987 – 8 February 1988
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byKim Myung-yoon
President of the New Democratic Party
In office
7 June 1979 – 27 October 1980
Preceded byLee Chul-seung
Succeeded byOffice abolished
(party dissolution)
In office
21 August 1974 – 21 September 1976
Preceded byKim Eui-taek
Succeeded byLee Chul-seung
Member of the National Assembly
In office
30 May 1992 – 13 October 1992
ConstituencyProportional Representation
In office
30 May 1988 – 29 May 1992
ConstituencySeo (Busan)
In office
29 July 1960 – 4 October 1979 (expelled)
ConstituencySeo (Busan)
In office
31 May 1954 – 30 May 1958
ConstituencyGeoje (South Gyeongsang)
Personal details
Born(1927-12-20)20 December 1927
Geoje, Geojedo, Keishōnan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died22 November 2015(2015-11-22) (aged 87)
Seoul, South Korea
Resting placeSeoul National Cemetery
Political party
See list
Spouse
(m. 1951)
Children6
Alma materSeoul National University (BA)
ReligionPresbyterianism (GAPCK)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance South Korea
Branch/service Republic of Korea Army
RankStudent officer
Korean name
Hangul
김영삼
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGim Yeongsam
McCune–ReischauerKim Yŏngsam
Art name
Hangul
거산
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGeosan
McCune–ReischauerKŏsan

Kim Young-sam (Korean김영삼; Hanja金泳三; Korean pronunciation: [ki.mjʌŋ.sam] or [kim] [jʌŋ.sam]; 20 December 1927 – 22 November 2015), often referred to by his initials YS, was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the 7th (14th election) president of South Korea from 1993 to 1998.

From 1961, he spent almost 30 years as one of the leaders of the South Korean opposition, and one of the most powerful rivals to the authoritarian regimes of Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo-hwan. He was elected to the National Assembly at the age of 25, the youngest person in Korean history, and served as a nine-term lawmaker, working as a leader with Kim Dae-jung and the democratic camp. His nickname is Geosan (巨山) and his hometown is Gimnyeong (金寧). Elected as president in the 1992 presidential election, Kim became the first civilian to hold the office in over 30 years. He was inaugurated on 25 February 1993, and served a single five-year term, presiding over a massive anti-corruption campaign, the arrest of his two predecessors, and an internationalization policy called Segyehwa.

At the final years of his presidency, Kim had been widely blamed for the collapse of the Seongsu Bridge and the Sampoong Department Store and the downturn and recession of the South Korean economy during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which forced South Korea to accept tens of billions of dollars in unpopular conditional loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This caused him to have one of the lowest approval ratings of any incumbent president in the history of South Korea at 6%, until Park Geun-hye surpassed Kim at 1–3% during the political scandal in 2016. After his death, however, he has seen a moderately positive reevaluation.


© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search