Editing Kim Dae-jung (section)

===Release, amnesty and 1987 presidential campaign===
{{see also|1987 South Korean presidential election}}
During the [[June Struggle]] of 1987 against Chun Doo-hwan, Chun succumbed to popular demand, releasing Kim Dae-jung and also allowing the country's first free presidential election.<ref name="dem profile"/> The [[June 29 Declaration]] by ex-General [[Roh Tae-woo]], Chun Doo-hwan's handpicked successor, saw Kim given an amnesty and his political rights restored.

Kim and the other leading opposition figure, [[Kim Young-sam]], initially promised to unite behind one candidate. However, disagreements between the two men over who was in a better position to win made Kim Dae-Jung split from the main opposition party, the Reunification Democratic Party, and formed the Peace Democratic Party to run for the presidency. As a result, the opposition vote was split, and Roh won with only 36.6% of the popular vote. Kim Young-sam received 28% and Kim Dae-jung 27% of the votes.

In July 2019, according to American [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) documents obtained by Hong Kong's ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' through a freedom of information request, the military-backed ruling forces drew up detailed plans to fix the election result in case Roh lost. The documents suggested that the government was prepared to crack down hard on any unrest following the vote, with an Intel briefing stating that an "open arrest order" had been prepared for Kim Dae-jung if he tried to "instigate a popular revolt against the election results".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3019439/secret-cia-files-reveal-plans-meddling-south-koreas-first|title=Secret CIA files reveal plans for meddling in South Korea's first democratic election|last=Power|first=John|date=20 July 2019|work=[[South China Morning Post]]|accessdate=20 July 2019}}</ref> As Roh won the election, the plans were not implemented.

Kim was subsequently elected to the National Assembly in 1988 and 1992.