Kim Jong-pil is a South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n politician and founder of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (the KCIA, now the National Intelligence Service

National Intelligence Service (South Korea)

The National Intelligence Service is the chief intelligence agency of South Korea. The agency was officially established in 1961 as the Korea Central Intelligence Agency , during the rule of President Park Chung-hee's military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, which displaced the...

), who served as Prime Minister

Prime Minister of South Korea

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea is appointed by the President with the National Assembly's approval. Unlike prime ministers in the parliamentary system, the Prime Minister of South Korea is not required to be a member of parliament....

 twice, from 1971–1975 and from 1998–2000.

Early life

‎

Kim Jong-pil was born in Buyeo County

Buyeo County

Buyeo County is a county in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Buyeo-eup, the county's capital, was the site of the capital of the Baekje kingdom from AD 538 to 660, when it was called Sabi....

, Chungcheongnam-do

Chungcheongnam-do

Chungcheongnam-do or Chungnam is a province in the west of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the south-western half of the former Chungcheong Province and remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, thereafter becoming part of South Korea...

, and graduated from the Korean Military Academy in 1949 (KMA class No. 8). He participated in the military coup (5·16 military political change) led by Major General Park Chung-hee

Park Chung-hee

Park Chung-hee was a Republic of Korea Army general and the leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. He seized power in a military coup and ruled until his assassination in 1979. He has been credited with the industrialization of the Republic of Korea through export-led growth...

 in 1961 and served in several high-profile offices, including Chairman of the ruling Democratic Republican Party

Democratic Republican Party (South Korea)

The Democratic Republican Party was a conservative, authoritarian and broadly state corporatist or fascistic political party in South Korea, ruling from its formation in 1963 to its dissolution under Chun Doo-hwan in 1980...

 during Park's tenure of eighteen years.

Political activity

In 1963, he founded the Republican Democratic Party(민주공화당). In 1971 he first served as Prime Minister of South Korea 1971 to 1975.

Ancestry

In a 2001 sentimental letter written to Bhimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, a king of erstwhile Ayodhya state with a history of 200 years old, Kim expressed of his March 2001 visit to India "remaining very meaningful to me" as it "fulfilled his desire to visit Ayodhya, a princess of which became the queen of King Suro of Gaya and Heo Hwang-ok

Heo Hwang-ok

Heo Hwang-ok was a princess who travelled from the ancient kingdom of Ayodhya to Korea. Information about her comes almost entirely from a few short passages in the Samguk Yusa, an 11th-century Korean chronicle. According to that chronicle, she arrived on a boat and married King Suro of Gaya in...

. I am the 72nd generation descendant of the King Kim Suro of the Karak Kingdom."

Kim was amongst more than a hundred historians and government representatives, including the North Korean ambassador to India, and an 18 member delegation from South Korea – led by former Gimhae

Gimhae

Gimhae, also commonly spelled Kimhae, is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Gimhae is known to locals as "The Paris of Gyeongsangnamdo." It is the seat of the large Gimhae Kim clan, one of the largest Kim clans in Korea...

 Mayor Song Eun-Bok – composed of prominent industrialists who inaugurated a memorial to their royal ancestor, Queen Hwang Huh

Heo Hwang-ok

Heo Hwang-ok was a princess who travelled from the ancient kingdom of Ayodhya to Korea. Information about her comes almost entirely from a few short passages in the Samguk Yusa, an 11th-century Korean chronicle. According to that chronicle, she arrived on a boat and married King Suro of Gaya in...

 on the west bank of the River Sarayu

Sarayu

The Sarayu is a river that flows through the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This river is of ancient significance, finding mentions in the Vedas and the Ramayana. The Sarayu forms at the confluence of the Karnali and Mahakali in Bahraich District...

.
The monument is built using a three-metre high stone weighing 7,500 kg, specially shipped from South Korea.

Retirement

In 2004, he announced his retirement from politics after his bid for a tenth term in the National Assembly

National Assembly of South Korea

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea is a 299-member unicameral legislature. The latest general elections were held on April 9, 2008. Single-member constituencies comprise 245 of the National Assembly's seats, while the remaining 54 are allocated by proportional representation...

 failed and his party, the United Liberal Democrats

United Liberal Democrats

The United Liberal Democrats was a liberal conservative political party in South Korea, whose support mostly came from Chungcheong region. In the 2004 parliamentary election, it gained only 4 seats in the National Assembly, and its president Kim Jong-pil announced his retirement from politics...

, was unable to gain a sizable number of seats in the 2004 parliamentary election

South Korean parliamentary election, 2004

Legislative elections were held in the Republic of Korea on April 15, 2004. The newly formed Uri Party and other parties supporting President Roh Moo-hyun, who was impeached by the outgoing National Assembly, won a majority of seats...

. He now is a regular Flight Simmer, and a big FSX and VATSIM enthusiast.