Kim Geun-tae (; 14 February 1947 – 30 December 2011) was a South Korean democracy activist and politician.

Life

Kim was born in

Bucheon Bucheon (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Bucheon is located away from Seoul, of which it is a satellite city. It is located between Incheon and Seoul. Bucheon is the second most densely populated city in South Korea after Seo ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

southern Korea South Korea is located in East Asia, on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula located out from the far east of the Asian landmass. The only country that shares a land border with South Korea is North Korea, lying to the north with of ...

. He studied in Kyunggi High School and entered

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

and majored

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

. In college, he started demonstrating against the Yushin Regime of President

Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

and for democracy. He was arrested several times and served several years in prison. After serving a full sentence, Kim was freed. Although Park Chung Hee was assassinated in 1979, the military dictatorship was succeeded by General

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...

in 1980. After Kim's release from prison, he began protesting against Chun's regime and founded the democracy activist group, Democratic Youth Coalition () in 1983. In 1985, he was arrested for profiting North Korea (which was a frequent

frame-up In the United States criminal law, a frame-up (frameup) or setup is the act of falsely implicating (framing) someone in a crime by providing fabricated evidence or testimony. In British usage, to frame, stitch up, or fit-up, is to maliciously ...

to the democracy movement by the military government) and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

d severely for 23 days by Lee Guen An, who was an inspector of the national police. In 1987, he shared the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award with his wife In Jae-keun. The Award is given annually to those whose courageous activism is at the heart of the human rights movement and in the spirit of Robert F. Kennedy's vision and legacy. He remembered the details of the torture and the identity of torturer, and revealed it during his trial. The government denied it at that time, but it was revealed as the truth after the democracy movement successfully forced the military regime into enacting democratic reforms. Lee Geun An, who tortured Kim, was wanted for the crime after the political situation reversed. Kim was regarded as one of the most important activists in the democracy movement of the Republic of Korea and he went into politics on the recommendation of

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (, ; 6 January 192418 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Pa ...

in 1995. After Kim Dae-jung was elected the president of the Republic of Korea in 1997, Kim was one of candidates who could succeed Kim Dae-jung's presidency in the ruling party. Because of a low approval rating, he gave up the race for presidency halfway, and supported

Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

, who won the presidential election in 2002. During Roh's presidency, he was a former leader of the ruling

Uri Party The Yeollin Uri Party (), generally abbreviated to Uri Party (), was the ruling social-liberal political party in South Korea from 2003 to 2007. A liberal party, it was created to support then-President Roh Moo-hyun. Chung Sye Kyun was the last ...

(now the

Democratic United Party The Democratic Party (DP; ), formerly the Democratic United Party (DUP; ) until 2013, was a Liberalism in South Korea, liberal political party in South Korea, and for the duration of its existence the country's main opposition force. On 15 De ...

), and he served as Health and Welfare Minister from 2004 to 2006. He was also member of Parliament of the Republic of Korea from 1996 until 2008. Although his political career seemed to go well, he suffered from severe

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

. Because of this, he refused to go to

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

s or

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

s, which reminded him of being tortured. He was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

in 2006, which was thought to be due to the torture. His condition got worse in 2010, deteriorating to the extent that he could not attend his daughter's wedding ceremony. He collapsed from a complication of his Parkinson's disease (a

blood clot A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulatio ...

in the

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

) in November 2011. Kim died on 30 December 2011. He was 64.S. Korea's 'democracy godfather' dies
''Yonhap News Agency,'' 30 December 2011
OECD biography He was buried in Moran Cemetery,

Seongnam Seongnam (; ) is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. It consists of three administrative districts: Bundang District, J ...

, where several notable democracy activists were buried.

In popular culture

He was played by actor

Park Won-sang Park Won-sang (; born January 20, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television Web series Theater Ambassadorship *Ambassador for 1st Democratization Movement Memorial Park Joint Memorial Cultural Festival (2022) Refe ...

in the film ''

National Security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

'' (2012).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Geun-Tae 1947 births 2011 deaths People from Bucheon Politicians from Gyeonggi Province Kyunggi High School alumni Seoul National University alumni South Korean democracy activists South Korean prisoners and detainees Uri Party politicians Health and welfare ministers of South Korea Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) Neurological disease deaths in South Korea Deaths from Parkinson's disease Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award laureates