Seoul, June 23 (IANS): Former South Korean Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil died here on Saturday at the age of 92 while being taken to a hospital. Kim, considered among the most influential politicians in the country in previous decades, served as Prime Minister on two occasions, between 1971 and 1975, and between 1998 and 2000, Yonhap agency reported.
Born in 1926, Kim graduated from the Korea Military Academy and played an important role in the 1961 military coup led by former President Park Chung-hee, who ruled the country with an iron fist until his assassination in 1979.
Before becoming Prime Minister for the first time, the retired military leader and father of two created and ran the Korean Intelligence Agency and later headed the then ruling Democratic Republican Party.
Besides holding government posts, the influential and conservative politician served as lawmaker on nine occasions until his retirement in 2004.
