L.A. Welcomes S. Korea’s Chief : Leadership: President Kim is the first civilian to head his nation in 32 years. His visit cheers Korean-Americans in the Southland.

Hundreds of flag-waving Korean-Americans on Wednesday welcomed South Korean President Kim Young Sam to Los Angeles on his first official visit abroad and celebrated the democratic reforms he has brought to their homeland.

“What a happy occasion this is!” said a beaming Garden Grove City Councilman Ho Chung, who was among 300 well-wishers at Los Angeles International Airport. “I’ve been in (this location) exactly twice. The last time I was here in the early 1980s, we held a demonstration against Chun Doo Hwan to protest his dictatorial rule. Today, we are welcoming the people’s president . . . and the flowering of democracy in South Korea.”

Kim, 65, is the first civilian to head South Korea in 32 years. His three predecessors were all former army generals.

Among those meeting Kim and his wife, Sohn Myong Soon, at the airport were Mayor Richard Riordan, South Korean officials and Korean-American community leaders. The Los Angeles High School band played as well-wishers lined up behind a chain-link fence shook hands with the Kims, who then left in a black Cadillac limousine.

The South Korean leader made no public statement at the airport before heading for the Century Plaza Hotel, where he met briefly with Gov. Pete Wilson. He and his entourage are staying at the hotel.

Korean First Lady Sohn, known as a traditional Korean wife, made a deep bow after she and her husband stepped off the plane. Elegant in a gold-colored chima chogori, the flowing traditional Korean attire for women, she stayed one step behind her husband.

“Isn’t she gracious?” a Korean grandmother said as she watched the presidential couple.

Today, the Kims are to leave for Seattle after City Hall ceremonies during which Kim will receive a key to the city from Riordan and meet with leaders of ethnic communities.

Kim was stopping over on his way to a summit of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum being sponsored by President Clinton this weekend.

The South Korean leader said earlier that he was making the trip to Los Angeles because he wanted to pay tribute and console the Korean-American community here, which is still struggling to get back on its feet after last year’s riots.

However, Korean community leaders said he was advised against visiting Koreatown for security reasons.

The South Korean president’s ties to Los Angeles are deep. His eldest son operates a swap meet near the City of Commerce.

“It feels good to know that President Kim has a son who runs a swap meet like an ordinary immigrant,” said Wendy Yoo, president of the Korean American Assn. of Orange County.

During his dissident years, when he was shunned by South Korean Presidents Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan, Kim received moral and financial support from Korean-Americans in California. That support continued when he was running for president last year.

Last week, Kim’s upcoming visit created quite a stir at the Korean Consulate. Phones ran with calls from people wanting invitations to a reception Wednesday night.

“We could only accommodate 700 people, but we had at least twice that many people who wanted to meet the president,” a South Korean official said. “I’m afraid we made a few enemies.”

Among those at the Century Plaza reception were Susan Ahn Cuddy, the Los Angeles-born daughter of Korean patriot Chang Ho Ahn, and the Rev. Sung Soo Whang of the Los Angeles Presbyterian Church in Koreatown, who has known Kim for more than four decades.

Whang, who once served as vice speaker of the South Korean National Assembly, knew Kim when he was working as a young aide to the country’s foreign minister.

“He and I escaped the communists from Seoul during the Korean War to seek refuge in the countryside,” Whang said. “What makes Kim’s leadership especially gratifying is that he is a good Christian too.” Kim is an elder in a Presbyterian church in Seoul.

During the reception, Kim urged Korean-Americans to “have the wisdom to live harmoniously with people of different ethnicities.”

He said the South Korean government plans to begin an educational exchange program to bring African-American and other U.S. minorities to Korea to help them learn more about the country and its culture.

As Kim spoke, outside the hotel about 35 Korean activists picketed the reception, saying that Kim’s reforms are insufficient.

As for himself, he said he will continue to move toward creating a “new Korea” by instituting more reforms in government and society.

Since taking office in February, Kim has drawn praise for political reforms that include requiring government officials to make financial disclosures. Kim disclosed his own finances, but some ranking South Korean officials stepped down rather than submit to the new requirement.

In an attempt to bring about what he calls “economic justice,” he also has required Koreans who have savings accounts in other people’s names to disclose them or face losing that money.