Roh Tae-woo (born December 4, 1932 in Daegu), is the sixth President of South Korea (1988–1993). He was a former Korean general and politician. A member of the Hanahoi, Roh was the hand-picked successor of the ex-general and president Chun Doo-hwan. This caused large pro-democracy rallies in Seoul and other cities in 1987. Roh agreed to hold democratic presidential elections, making himself a candidate for the next election. The opposition split the votes between Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung (both of whom later became presidents). This made Roh the first elected president after the time that the military ruled the country.
Roh's rule was notable for hosting the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and for his foreign policy of nordpolitik.
In 1993, Roh's successor Kim Young-sam led an anti-corruption campaign that saw Roh and Chun Doo-hwan on trial for bribery. The two former presidents were later charged with mutiny and treason for their part in the 1979 coup and the 1980 Gwangju Riot.
Both were found to be guilty in August 1996 of treason, mutiny and corruption. Chun was sentenced to death, later changed to life imprisonment. Roh's 22 1/2-year jail sentence was reduced to 17 years. Both were released from prison in early 1998, pardoned by then-President Kim Dae-jung.
Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan (born March 6 (Lunar January 18) , 1931) was a Korean military officer and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. He was sentenced to death in 1996. Chun was later pardoned by President Kim Young-sam with the advice of then President-elect Kim Dae-jung, who had sentenced to death by Chun some 20 years earlier.
Chun was a graduate of the Korean Military Academy in 1955. He was a member of Hanahoi, a powerful group of military officials that supported his actions. He was in charge of the investigation into the assassination of President Park Chung-hee. On 12 December 1979, in what became known as the Incident of December 12th, Chun ordered the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Chung Sung Hwa (정승화, 鄭昇和) without authorization from then-President Choi Kyu-ha. He ordered the arrest as part of the investigation of his part in the assassination. Chung Sung Hwa resisted the arrest. This led to a bloody gun fight at the Army Headquarters and the Ministry of Defense. By the next morning, Chun and his fellow military academy graduates Roh Tae-woo and Jeong Ho-yong were in charge of the Korean military.
On 17 May 1980, Chun placed the entire country under martial law and disbanded the National Assembly. Many politicians were arrested, including liberal politician Kim Dae-jung. Kim was later sentenced to death in spite of protests from the United States. Later, Chun changed Kim's sentence in return for U.S. support. Protests across the nation became smaller. However, very violent prostests happened in Gwangju. Protestors Lootinglooted government building. They armed themselves with stolen guns and military jeeps. Protestors killed a couple of policemen and started of violent protest against the government. A couple of hundreds of protestors and some thirty soldiers were killed in the Gwangju. Choi resigned in August, and Chun was elected his successor by the National Conference for Unification, the South Korean electoral college, in September. In February 1981, Chun was elected president under a revised constitution as the candidate of the Democratic Justice Party (later renamed Democratic Republican Party).
Chun ruled in an authoritarian manner. The 1981 constitution was less authoritarian than its 1972 predecessor, the Yushin Constitution, but still granted very broad powers to the president. However, it limited the president to one seven-year term. Chun did not try to change it so he could run for reelection in 1988.
By 1986, the general public was happy with the economic growth. However, there was much anger and hatred against Chun's regime by left-wing students who later became known as 386s. The left wing students led the nationwide June 1987 protests. In the same month, U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent a letter to Chun in support of the creation of "democratic institutions." On June 29th, Roh Tae-woo announced a program of reform. This included direct presidential elections, restoration of banned politicians including Kim Dae-jung, and other liberalizing measures. This won Roh instant popularity, and he was elected as the next president of South Korea. It later became known that Chun was responsible for this plan.
During Chun's visit to Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) in 1983, a bomb exploded at a mausoleum he was about to visit. The bomb killed 21 people, including South Korean Cabinet members. Chun himself did not die because he got there two minutes late. While no firm evidence of North Korean involvement has been found, they are widely thought to be responsible.
In 1996, former presidents Chun and Roh were jailed on charges of corruption. On December 16, they were also found guilty of treason and mutiny as part of their takeover of power. Chun was sentenced to death. That sentence was changed to a life sentence. He and Roh were pardoned a year later.
Choi Kyu-ha
Choi Kyu-hah (July 16, 1919 – October 22, 2006) (also spelled Choi Kyu-ha) was the President of South Korea between 1979 and 1980. He was born in the town of Wonju, in Gangwon Province. He was foreign minister of South Korea from 1967 to 1971 and prime minister from 1975 to 1979.
After the assassination of Park Chung Hee in 1979, Choi, the prime minister of South Korea at the time, took power. Because of the unrest of Park's authoritarian rule, Choi promised a new constitution and democratic elections (many thought that the elections led by Park were flawed). He won a December election later that year to become the country's fourth president.
In December 1979, Major General Chun Doo-hwan and close allies in the military staged a military coup against Choi's government. They quickly removed the army chief of staff and by early 1980 virtually controlled the government.
In April 1980, because of increasing pressure from Chun and other politicians, Choi appointed Chun as head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, giving him enormous power. In May, Chun declared martial law and removed all trappings of civilian government, becoming the de facto ruler of the country. By then, student protests were increasing in Seoul and Gwangju. The protests in Gwangju continued, resulting in the Gwangju Massacre, where over 200 civilians were killed within five days by Chun's military.
Choi resigned soon afterward. Chun became president on September 1, 1980. After his resignation, Choi lived quietly out of the public eye. He died on October 22, 2006, aged 87.
Pak Chŏng Hŭi
Pak Chŏng Hŭi (sometimes spelled: Park Chung-hee) (September 30, 1917 – October 26, 1979) was the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until he was assassinated. He was named one of the top 100 Asians of the Century by Time Magazine (1999). He has been severely criticized for his government's brutality, especially after 1971. A penname was Jungsu(중수;中樹).
Pak was born in Seonsan, a small town in Gumi-si(구미시), Gyeongsangbuk-do(경상북도) near Daegu(대구). He was the seventh child from a family of modest means. His father was Park Seong-bin (age 46 at the time) and his mother was Baek Nam-hui (age 45).
Pak came from an undistinguished local branch of Goryeong Bak descent group.
Pak won admission to Daegu Teacher's College through a competitive examination. He entered on April 8, 1932 and graduated on March 25, 1937, after five years of study. His formative years coincided with the Japanese invasion of China, starting with the Manchurian incident in 1931 and culminating in all-out war in 1937.
He went on to teach for several years in Mungyeong, where the school has been preserved as a museum.