Won’t Be Jailed on Return, Korea Dissident Says

South Korean opposition leader Kim Dae Jung said Saturday that he has been told he will not be jailed when he returns to Seoul this week after two years in exile, but he believes that his life will be in danger as long as a military dictatorship rules his country.

“I must go back,” Kim said, however. “My people need me.”

Kim, who leaves Washington on the return trip Wednesday, said he is worried that he might be returned to house arrest.

“I have been informed from some American and Korean sources I will not be in jail, I won’t be jailed,” he said in an interview. “There is still a possibility of house arrest.”

Kim, who was once sentenced to death by the government, will arrive back in Seoul on Friday in the company of Americans who hope to prevent any recurrence of the reception accorded Philippine opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., who was murdered upon his return to Manila in 1983.

“I don’t see another Aquino,” said Kim. He said the South Korean government of President Chun Doo Hwan “has learned much from that case.” But he also said, “As long as the military dictatorship is in Seoul, my life will be put in constant danger, I can’t deny.”

The White House announced Friday that President Chun has been invited to the White House to meet with President Reagan in April. The trip was not announced until after the Administration had been given assurances by the South Korean government that Kim would not be imprisoned.

However, an aide to Kim expressed disappointment that Reagan would not also meet with Kim before his return. Kim had written Reagan asking for a meeting to thank him for helping save his life in 1980 and arranging his trip to the United States in 1982. The two did meet a month ago, the aide, Lee Keun Pal, said.

Kim, 59, said that the Chun government has begun to show “a reasonable attitude” about his return. He said he plans to “be very careful” to avoid doing anything to cause “instability or social chaos” after his return.

As recently as a week ago, a government official in Seoul said Kim would be arrested and made to serve the remaining 17 1/2 years of a prison term. That statement was later disavowed, however, after the Reagan Administration made clear that imprisoning Kim could delay plans for Chun’s U.S. visit.