Kim Jong-pil

Not to be confused with Kim Jong-il, former leader of North Korea

Kim Jong-pil
Kim in 1999
11th and 32nd Prime Minister of South Korea
In office June 4, 1971 – December 18, 1975
President	Park Chung-hee
Preceded by	Baek Du-jin
Succeeded by	Choi Kyu-hah
In office August 18, 1998 – January 12, 2000
President	Kim Dae-jung
Preceded by	Goh Kun
Succeeded by	Park Tae-joon
Personal details
Born	January 7, 1926 Buyeo County, South Chungcheong, Korea
Political party	Saenuri Party
Spouse(s)	Park Young-ok
Children	2
Religion	Buddhism, later converted to Protestantism
Military service
Allegiance	South Korea
Service/branch	Republic of Korea Army
Rank	Second Lieutenant

Kim Jong-pil
Hangul	김종필
Hanja	金鍾泌
Revised Romanization	Gim Jong-pil
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Chongp'il
Pen name
Hangul	운정
Hanja	雲庭
Revised Romanization	Unjeong
McCune–Reischauer	Unjŏng

Kim Jong-pil (Korean pronunciation: [kimdʑoŋpʰil]; born January 7, 1926) is a South Korean politician and founder of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (the KCIA, now the National Intelligence Service), who served as Prime Minister twice, from 1971–1975 and from 1998–2000.

Life

Early life

Kim Jong-pil was born in Buyeo County, Chungcheongnam-do, and graduated from the Korea Military Academy in 1949 (KMA class No. 8). He participated in the May 16 coup led by Major General Park Chung-hee in 1961 and served in several high-profile offices, including Chairman of the ruling Democratic Republican Party during Park's presidency of eighteen years.

Kim Jong-pil and Douglas MacArthur (left)

Political activity

In 1963, he founded the Democratic Republican Party (민주공화당). In 1971 he first served as Prime Minister of South Korea 1971 to 1975.

Ancestry

In a 2001 sentimental letter written to Bhimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, a king of erstwhile Ayodhya state with a history of 200 years old, Kim expressed of his March 2001 visit to India "remaining very meaningful to me" as it "fulfilled his desire to visit Ayodhya, a princess of which became the queen of King Suro of Gaya and Heo Hwang-ok. I am the 72nd generation descendant of the King Kim Suro of the Karak Kingdom."^[1]

Kim was amongst more than a hundred historians and government representatives, including the North Korean ambassador to India, and an 18-member delegation from South Korea – led by former Gimhae Mayor Song Eun-Bok^[2] – composed of prominent industrialists who inaugurated a memorial to their royal ancestor, Queen Hwang Huh on the west bank of the River Sarayu. The monument is built using a three-metre high stone weighing 7,500 kg, specially shipped from South Korea.^[3]

Retirement

In 2004, he announced his retirement from politics after his bid for a tenth term in the National Assembly failed and his party, the United Liberal Democrats, was unable to gain a sizable number of seats in the 2004 parliamentary election. The party later merged into Grand National Party.

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Politics of South Korea

References

1. "South Korea's Ayodhya connection" http://www.kimhaekims.net/queen_huh_eng7.htm
2. "A Princess from Ayodhya" http://www.kimhaekims.net/story-a_princess_from_ayodhya.htm
3. "South Korea's Ayodhya connection" http://www.kimhaekims.net/queen_huh_eng7.htm