| Korean name | |
| Hangul: | 임동원 |
| Rr: | Im Dong-won |
| Mr: | Im Tongwŏn |
Lim Dong-won (born 1934) is a retired South Korean politician who was a top aide during the administration of Kim Dae-jung and a key architect of the Sunshine Policy, holding the post of Unification Minister until losing a no-confidence vote on September 3, 2001; he stepped down after being impeached on December 23, 2001.[1] His involvement in secret payments to North Korea to facilitate the 2000 summit meeting resulted in an 18-month suspended jail sentence in 2003. In 2004 he was named the head of the Sejong Institute.[2] In his retirement he has been critical of United States policy on North Korea.[3] He has also been indicted in connection with an extensive wiretapping scandal uncovered in 2005.[4]
Before joining Kim Dae-jung's administration he had served as head of Kim's Asia-Pacific Peace Foundation; deputy chief of the unification board under Roh Tae-woo; and ambassador to Nigeria and Australia in the 1980s.