Roh Tae-woo

Roh Tae-woo (4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021), was the sixth President of South Korea (1988–1993). He was a 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.

Roh died on October 26, 2021, at the Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul at the age of 88.

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Category:South Korean criminals
Category:Presidents of South Korea
Category:South Korean military people
Category:1932 births
Category:2021 deaths