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- Sondhi Limthongkul is Thai media mogul and leader of the right-wing People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). Starting his career as a journalist, he later founded Manager Daily newspaper as well as satellite broadcaster ASTV. Originally a strong supporter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, he later became a leader of the anti-Thaksin movement. Under his leadership, the PAD was the major player in the 2005–2006 Thai political crisis that led to the 2006 military coup that toppled the Thaksin government. When Thaksin affiliated parties won the 2007 general election, Sondhi became the major player in the 2008–2009 Thai political crisis, leading the PAD in violent clashes with security forces and anti-PAD protestors as well as the seizure of Government House, Don Muang Airport, and Suvarnabhumi Airport. Sondhi is a supporter of the Democrat Party and stopped the PAD's protests after Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was appointed Prime Minister. In April 2009, Abhisit faced massive anti-government protests which caused the Fourth East Asian Summit to be canceled and led to riots in Bangkok. Days after the Bangkok unrest was quelled by military forces, gunmen ambushed Sondhi's car, a black Toyota Vellfire at a petrol station, shot out the tires, and fired over 100 M-16 and AK-47 assault rifle rounds at the car. The attackers escaped from the scene when Sondhi's followers in another car opened fire on them. Sondhi suffered one wound to the head but was conscious, standing, and lucid before being sent to the hospital for surgery. Sondhi survived the surgery, which involved removing several bullet fragments embedded about half a centimetre in his skull and was visited by relatives afterwards. It was not clear who ordered the shooting, although Sondhi's son as well as the PAD's spokesman speculated that a faction of the military or police could have been behind it. Sondhi founded Manager Daily in 1982 after several ventures in publishing. The newspaper became his personal mouthpiece, and he used the profits to build a publishing, broadcasting, and telecommunications empire. During Bloody May in i992, Sondhi and his media played a significant role in opposing the military crackdown on protesters, by issuing a free special tabloid on the events while the government threatened to close his newspaper. By 1996, he had over US$600 million in assets. His business faced a meltdown following the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, forcing him into bankruptcy and sparking investigations into irregular inter-company transactions. Immediately after the crisis, Sondhi furiously attacked the Democrat-led government over its management of the economic recovery. With the election of Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister in 2001, several of Sondhi's associates became leaders in the new government. His banker, Viroj Nualkhair, became president of state-owned Krung Thai Bank and gave more than a billion baht in "debt forgiveness" to Sondhi, allowing him to emerge from bankruptcy. Sondhi became a vocal supporter of Thaksin, calling him "the best prime minister our country has ever had. " In 2005, Viroj Nualkhair was dismissed from the KTB after incurring over 40 billion baht in problem loans. Sondhi then began criticizing Thaksin using the media under his control, including satellite broadcaster ASTV. He founded the People's Alliance for Democracy, aimed at overthrowing the Thaksin government. The PAD cancelled their activity after a military coup against Thaksin. However when Thaksin-affiliated parties won a post-coup election, and vowed to revise the new constitution, blamed as 'undemocratic',the PAD reformed and renewed its protests. In 2008, he and PAD demonstrators occupied Government House and barricaded themselves inside for months. They later seized Don Muang Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport, stranding thousands of travelers. At the height of the sieges, the PAD declared that the only person they would accept as Premier was Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the opposition party,Democrat Party. The sieges ended when the Constitutional Court banned the People's Power Party. Army commander and co-leader of the 2006 coup, General Anupong Paochinda, coerced several PPP MPs to defect to the Democrat Party, allowing Abhisit to form a government and become Prime Minister. PAD leader Khamnoon Sitthisamarn called Abhisit's premiership a "genuine PAD victory" and a "Anupong-style coup. " Citing the claimed failure of popular democracy in Thailand, Sondhi has suggested constitutional amendments that the partial members of parliament should be selected on profession- based, the suggestion that became controversial, seen as 'undemocratic' in his opponents' eyes. Closely affiliated with Queen Sirikit and prominent royalists, Sondhi regularly invoked king Bhumibol Adulyadej in his protests, and has claimed that his enemies are disloyal to the monarchy, aiming at destroying the country's political form. Sondhi has openly called for the military and Thailand's traditional elite to take a greater role in politics.
- Sondhi Limthongkul es un polémico periodista tailandés, y el propietario del diario Phuchatkan Rai Wan, un periódico local tailandés, así como de otros medios de comunicación. Líder del movimiento Alianza del Pueblo para la Democracia Fue suspendido como periodista debido a las denuncias que realizaba en un programa de televisión contra el Rey Bhumibol. Al principio fue un firme partidario del Primer Ministro Thaksin Shinawatra, pero después se convirtió en un líder del movimiento anti-Thaksin.. Debido a su crítica de Thaksin Shinawatra y otros miembros del Thai Rak Thai, se enfrenta a varias demandas penales por las actividades relacionadas con su papel como líder del movimiento opositor. En marzo de 2007, la Corte Penal Tailandesa le condenó a dos años de cárcel en un juicio por difamar a Phumtham Vejchayachai, consejero de Thaksin, al que acusó de comunista. En diciembre de 2007, fue condenado a tres años de cárcel por difamar Thaksin.
- 頌提·林通坤（泰文：สนธิ ลิ้มทองกุล；拉丁轉寫：Sondhi Limthongkul；中文名：林明達；1947年11月7日－）泰國第三代華裔，祖籍中國海南。大學畢業，是泰國經理媒體集團董事長。1983年在曼谷創辦《經理月刊》，1992年創立泰國林映雲薇基金會。 林明達之媒體集團旗下，有《經理報》、《亞洲時報》等多份日報、期刊等出版社、4家網站、1家廣播電台。林明達由2000年起，有自製的電視節目，2004年起有24小時的電視新聞頻道。 在以前，林明達是他信（泰語：ทักษิณ ชินวัตร）的有力支持者。在2006年，倒他信行動的發起人，卻是林明達。 2009年4月17日林明達在汽車內遭到槍擊受傷，更有子彈擦中眼眉，但他大難不死。
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