Seoul Reportedly Will Allow Race by Kim Dae Jung

Authorities here opened the way Wednesday for South Korea’s leading dissident, Kim Dae Jung, to run in this year’s presidential elections, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Legislators of the ruling Democratic Justice Party agreed to change a draft constitution to enable “certain opposition politicians to freely take part in the election,” Yonhap quoted party sources--not further identified--as having said.

The opposition had accused the party of planning to exclude Kim from the vote by refusing to change a clause in the constitution requiring presidential candidates to have lived in South Korea continuously for at least five years. The 63-year-old former presidential candidate returned two years ago from two years’ exile in the United States.

A meeting of party legislators reportedly agreed to a new constitutional bylaw exempting this year’s candidates from the residency requirement.

The opposition Reunification Democratic Party, led by Kim and fellow dissident Kim Young Sam, has yet to settle their rival presidential ambitions. One or both will run against Democratic Justice Party Chairman Roh Tae Woo in the race to succeed Chun next February.