Ruling Party’s Kim Elected S. Korea Leader

Electing their first civilian president in more than three decades, South Korean voters chose stability over change by selecting Kim Young Sam, the standard-bearer of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party, to lead the country, nearly final results showed today.

“We have established a true civilian government through fair elections and obtained legitimacy,” Kim said in declaring victory today. “We will now put an end to non-productive political struggle.”

Kim’s victory in Friday’s voting was larger than expected over his political archrival, opposition leader Kim Dae Jung. He led 42% to 34% with 98.6% of the votes counted. The size of Kim’s margin was attributed largely to the poorer-than-expected showing by the third-party candidate, former Hyundai Chairman Chung Ju Yung. Four minor candidates got a small slice of the vote.

Kim Dae Jung, conceding defeat this morning, announced that he would give up his National Assembly seat and end a 40-year political career and dominance of the nation’s political opposition. The longtime democratic activist survived a death sentence and assassination attempts by a former military regime to stage his third and final try for the presidency.

“I once again failed to gain your confidence. It’s my fault, and I accept the results with a humble heart,” he said.

Chung had electrified the campaign with bold plans to halve the cost of apartments, donate his wealth to the people and revive the ailing economy, raising expectations of gaining between 18% and 25% of the vote. But in the election’s most surprising outcome, the tycoon ended up with just 16%.

That gave the victory to Kim Young Sam, a former opposition leader who merged his forces with President Roh Tae Woo’s ruling party in 1990. Kim overcame his rivals’ charges of being an intellectual lightweight and ideological traitor who sold his soul for personal ambitions.

Kim Young Sam should be appreciated for his capacity to “enter an undemocratic party and change it into a democratic-minded one,” said Han Wan Sang, political science professor at Seoul National University.

Voters, in what all parties agreed were remarkably clean elections, appeared to have bought Kim Young Sam’s message that “stability over chaos” is the best course for South Korea amid its mounting economic troubles. Kim, whose folksy style of consensus proved popular compared with his more strong-headed rivals, had also argued that electing him would avoid paralyzing the nation with divided government because his party controls the National Assembly.

Kim, who turns 66 on Sunday, will assume the five-year term from President Roh, a former general, next February. He is expected to make no major changes in South Korean policy toward the United States. Most of his campaign was focused on domestic issues: clean politics, smaller government and economic revival--all accomplished through “gradual change.”

“If a political force other than the DLP pushes reform recklessly, our society and economy, now reeling from stagnation, will plunge into chaos,” he warned voters on his final day of campaigning Thursday.

Regionalism, the potent force that has divided South Korea for decades, seemed to have played its usual role in deciding voting outcomes; Korean newscasters commented that it may have even grown worse. Despite all candidates’ talk of reducing regional conflict, Kim Young Sam racked up large majorities in the populous Kyongsang provinces in the southeast, while Kim Dae Jung won large margins in the southwestern Cholla region, his home area.

In the capital city of Seoul, where almost 40% of voters live, Kim Dae Jung was maintaining a narrow lead.

The election marks a milestone in South Korea’s turbulent history. It is the first time no military candidate has run since 1961, when Gen. Park Chung Hee seized power in a coup. The country was run by authoritarian military governments from 1961 to 1987. Both Kims had been jailed and threatened with death by a military regime; their front-runner status in Friday’s election showed how far South Koreans have come in closing the door on their dictatorial past.

During the 28-day campaign, Kim Dae Jung proffered a “new DJ plan” to soften his radical image and show his eagerness for a “grand reconciliation” with the military and business conglomerates that have dominated South Korea. But his past--and his southwestern roots--proved too much for South Korea’s conservative voters.

The 68-year-old leader pledged today to help to continue to develop the minority party.

The future of Chung, 77, and his United People’s Party is unclear. Often compared with the independent American presidential contender Ross Perot, Chung abruptly jumped into politics in February, and, one month later, won an impressive 17.4% of the National Assembly seats for his fledgling party.

In conceding defeat today, he said only that he accepted the results “with a humble heart” and congratulated the victorious Kim.

Chung’s weak electoral showing may have resulted partly from a government probe of Hyundai, the nation’s largest business conglomerate, on charges of illegal financing of the founder’s campaign.

Under clear skies and chilly temperatures, an estimated 81.9% of the nation’s 29.4 million eligible voters turned out.

President Roh’s pledge to ensure the “cleanest elections in South Korean history” produced visible results. Overall, the three parties sent 146,926 election monitors to the nation’s 15,346 polling stations. As of Friday, the government had arrested 129 people on charges of election law violations.

Special correspondent Chi Jung Nam contributed to this report.