Late President Kim Dae-jung’s prison writing is disclosed

The prison writing of late President Kim Dae-jung has been additionally revealed. Kim Dae-jung Library in Yonsei University has disclosed the prison writings of Kim Dae-jung, which were written with a nail on July 22, 1978 in a hospital room at Seoul University Hospital where he was locked up. This came as a series of the previous 19 prison writings revealed earlier.

The recipient of the letter was his wife, the late First Lady Lee Hee-ho. The late president wrote, behind the surveillance of the Yushin regime, to his wife about his judgment of political state of affairs and strategies for democratic movement. He wrote, “After fall, our political landscape will undergo a huge turmoil.” The letter also included the husband’s concern for his wife, writing, “I am worried about your health.”

The late President Kim was investigated for his involvement in March 1 Democracy Declaration in 1976 and was confined in a hospital room. His wife visited Kim and brought in a wrapping paper, on which Kim used a nail to write a letter. “The letter had been left out from the bunch and was later found in early this year,” said an official of the Kim Dae-jung Library. “A prison letter written with a nail is difficult to be found both at home and abroad.”


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