Hope to See My Father before Too Late

“My father has been in serious illness recently, and my only wish as the eldest son is to see him in face and beg him for forgiving my negligence in filial duty before he dies.”

Robert C. Kim (also known as Kim Chae-gon, 63) has been serving his prison terms at Federal Correctional Institute in Allenwood, Pennsylvania since he was arrested by the FBI in September, 1996, on charges of passing classified documents to a military attaché at the Korean Embassy. He delivered his wish in a letter to his aid association which awaited its launching. He was sentenced to nine year prison terms and has two years left before release.

The aid association for Kim was launched at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul on July 27, demonstrating that Robert Kim has not been forgotten in Korea.

The association with the launching ceremony integrated missions to save his life and to release him, which was set up in 1997 and 1999 respectively. The yesterday`s ceremony gathered over 300 participants including Kim`s wife Jang Myung-hee (60), Kim`s brother and head of National Youth Center of Korea Kim Seong-gon, other relatives of Kim along with Rep. Yu Jae-geon and his colleagues, lawyers, and citizens.

Kim`s wife Jang delivered a letter of gratitude on behalf of her husband in jail, moving the participants.

In the letter, Kim said, “In jail, I have received countless encouraging letters and warm presents.” He also added “Although I cannot promise for sure that I return the favor I got here, I truly believe that God will not forget the honor and mercy you have shown to me.”

“Kim has been punished more harshly than he deserved”, said the then Captain Baek Dong-il (now retired, 55), who was suspected of receiving confidential military intelligence from Kim. Tears pooled in his eyes as he remembered the situation in the past and said “The information on the North Kim passed over has been conducive greatly to policy making and Kim has been a true patriot who sacrificed himself for the nation.”

The aid association plans to focus mainly on providing financial help to Kim and his families.

Lee Wung-jin (38), head of the association and Seon-woo, matching company, said that “The association will avoid outward or empty shows. Instead we will try to become a practical help such as helping Kim to adept to community without much problem after being released.”

The association also plans to work for reducing the mandatory period of probation for Kim.

Robert Kim was sentenced to nine years in prison, but during his serving terms, 15 percent of the prison terms was forgiven due to his exemplary service. He, accordingly, is to be freed on July 27, 2004, but still won`t be able to leave the U.S. for the next three years of probation period.

Sung-Kyu Kim kimsk@donga.com