Media Release
United States Congress
Rep. Ed Royce (CA-40)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                          
August 18, 2009
Audra McGeorge (202) 340-8147

Royce Reacts to Death of Former South Korean

President Kim Dae-jung

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, made the following remarks in reaction to the news of the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung:

Today, the world has lost a senior statesman.  Kim Dae-jung spent a lifetime fighting for democracy in South Korea.  His efforts have left a lasting mark on South Korean society. 

Persecuted, targeted for assassination twice and imprisoned, Kim Dae-jung survived all with the help of the United States and went on to become one of the principal authors of South Korea's constitution and eventually president. 

I offer my condolences to Koreans and Korean Americans who respected Kim Dae-jung for his steadfast struggle for democracy and prosperity in South Korea.

President Kim addressed a joint meeting of Congress in 1998.  Royce was the Co-Chairman of the U.S.-Republic of Korea Interparliamentary Exchange from 2000-2008. 

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