Ex-president Kim hid love child: report

Former president Kim Dae-jung has been concealing the existence of an illegitimate daughter, according to an investigative programme that was to air on television last night.

SBS television was showing an interview with a woman who claims to be the daughter born of an extramarital affair that Mr Kim had with a former secretary in 1970 while he was a national assemblyman.

Local media reports say the woman, whose identity was to be concealed on air, claims during the interview that the former president's eldest son, Kim Hong-il, offered bribes to buy her silence.

'As a result of intensive investigations, programme producers have confirmed most of her allegations as true and uncovered evidence of living expenses given to her by Hong-il,' Yonhap news agency quoted a spokesman for SBS as saying.

The illegitimate daughter is reportedly a well-educated woman in her 30s who has spent years hiding the identity of her father, according to Seoul newspapers.

Her mother is said to have committed suicide after being hospitalised in June 2000. Analysts point out that this had been a particularly sensitive time for Mr Kim as he was preparing for a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

News of the forthcoming broadcast drew a terse reaction from the former president.