Kim Young-sam

South Korea state institutions Conservatism and Christian democracy 1927.12.20.–2015.11.22. ○ Natural death

President of South Korea who proclaimed segyehwa, joined the OECD and left office in the currency crisis

Born in Geoje, Kim graduated in philosophy from Seoul National University and was elected to the National Assembly at 26, serving nine terms. A leader of the opposition to the regimes of Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo-hwan, he won the 1992 presidential election and in 1993–98 was the first civilian president in over thirty years. He led an anti-corruption campaign, saw his two predecessors arrested, pursued the internationalisation policy of segyehwa and took Korea into the OECD in 1996. In his last year the Hanbo and Kia failures and the currency crisis forced Korea to accept IMF loans, and his approval rating fell to 6 percent.