Three Professors Ask Release Of South Korean Dissident

Three Harvard professors have joined an international group of scholars and politicians in an appeal to the South Korean government for the release of Kim Dae Jung, a prominent dissident facing execution.

Edwin O. Reischauer, University Professor, George Wald, Higgins Professor of Biology Emeritus, and John D. Montgomery, Higgins Professor of Public Administration, signed an advertisement calling for Kim's immediate release, which appeared Sunday in The New York Times.

Waiting For a Verdict

Kim, the leading opponent of the current military government in South Korea was charged with sedition and sentenced to death earlier this year for his alleged role in the Kwangju uprising. He is awaiting a verdict on an appeal to the South Korean Supreme Court.

Several countries, including the United States, have made appeals on Kim's behalf.

In the advertisement, the group urged the U.S. and Japanese governments to suspend all aid to South Korea if the Chun Doo Hwan government does not free Kim.

Describing Kim's trial and sentencing as "utterly arbitrary and prejudicial," the group rejected the South Korean government's contention that the incident "is entirely an internal matter."

Reischauer, who chairs the group and describes himself as a "personal friend" of Kim's, said Sunday that there is "a real chance Kim's sentence will be commuted" if more groups demand his release.

Cut Credits

To expedite Kim's release, the U.S. should remove all American military presence from South Korea, in addition to cutting off financial credits to the country, Reischauer added.

Montgomery said Sunday, however, that Kim's chances for commutation are only "touch and go." Unlike Reischauer, who said the Carter administration has "been weak" in dealing with the Chun government, Montgomery said President Carter "has done quite a bit" for Kim.

No Change From Reagan

Montgomery predicted that President-elect Ronald Reagan's treatment of the Kim affair "will not be different from Carter's."

The U.S. "must be careful" in dealing with the South Korean government so that the South Koreans cannot distort the issue into one of American imperialism, he added.

Although only three Harvard professors signed the statement published in the Times, Montgomery said "there is a lot of sympathy" among other Faculty members.

Reischauer offered Kim the position of visiting scholar when he visited Harvard in 1972, but the Korean did not accept the offer.