Roh Tae-woo

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His Excellency Roh Tae-woo
노태우
Roh in 1989
6th President of South Korea
In office 25 February 1988 – 24 February 1993
Prime Minister	Lee Hyun-jae Kang Young-hoon Ro Jai-bong Chung Won-shik Hyun Soong-jong
Preceded by	Chun Doo-hwan
Succeeded by	Kim Young-sam
President of the Democratic Liberal Party
In office 9 May 1990 – 28 August 1992
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Kim Young-sam
President of the Democratic Justice Party
In office 5 August 1987 – 2 February 1990 Acting: 10 July 1987 – 5 August 1987
Preceded by	Chun Doo-hwan
Succeeded by	Position abolished
President of the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee
In office 12 August 1984 – 7 May 1986
IOC President	Juan Antonio Samaranch
Preceded by	Peter Ueberroth
Succeeded by	Park Seh-jik
Chair of the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee
In office 11 July 1983 – 7 May 1986
Preceded by	Kim Yong-shik
Succeeded by	Park Seh-jik
Minister of Home Affairs
In office 28 April 1982 – 6 July 1983
President	Chun Doo-hwan
Preceded by	Suh Jong-hwa
Succeeded by	Chu Yong-bok
Minister of Sports
In office 20 March 1982 – 28 April 1982
President	Chun Doo-hwan
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Lee Won-kyong
Personal details
Born	(1932-12-04)4 December 1932[a] Tatsujō-gun, Taikyū, Keishōhoku-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died	26 October 2021(2021-10-26) (aged 88) Seoul, South Korea
Resting place	Paju Unification Hill, Paju
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Democratic Justice (1980–1990) Democratic Liberal (1990–1992)
Spouse	Kim Ok-suk ​ (m. 1959)​
Children	Roh Soh-yeong (daughter) Roh Jae-heon (son)
Alma mater	Korea Military Academy (BS)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	South Korea
Branch/service	Republic of Korea Army
Years of service	1950–1981
Rank	General
Commands	9th Infantry Division, Capital Defense Command, Defense Security Command
Battles/wars	Korean War Vietnam War
Korean name
Hangul	노태우
Hanja	盧泰愚
Revised Romanization	No Taeu
McCune–Reischauer	No T'aeu
Art name
Hangul	용당
Hanja	庸堂
Revised Romanization	Yongdang
McCune–Reischauer	Yongdang

Roh Tae-woo (Korean: 노태우, pronounced [no.tʰɛ̝.u]; 4 December 1932^[2][3][4][a] – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. He was the first democratically elected president of South Korea.^[5]

Born in Daegu, Roh attended the Korea Military Academy alongside his close friend Chun Doo-hwan. Rising steadily through the ranks, he saw action in the Vietnam War, and by 1979 he was a major general and commanded the White Horse Division. In that capacity, Roh played a key role in the December 1979 military coup that brought Chun to power, and supported Chun's violent crackdown of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. Retiring from the army a year later, he held a series of ministerial posts in Chun's government.

In June 1987, Chun handpicked Roh as the candidate of the ruling Democratic Justice Party in the upcoming presidential election, which effectively handed Roh the presidency. The announcement triggered large pro-democracy rallies across the country that came to be known as the June Democratic Struggle. In response, Roh worked to distance himself from the Chun government and delivered the June 29 Declaration, promising a broad program of democratic reforms including the direct election of the president. He won the election in December with a plurality and was inaugurated on 25 February 1988.

As president, Roh reaffirmed his commitment to the continuing democratization of South Korean politics. He oversaw the merger of his Democratic Justice Party with Kim Young-sam's Reunification Democratic Party and Kim Jong-pil's New Democratic Republican Party to form the Democratic Liberal Party. Shortly after inauguration, he presided over the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. In foreign affairs, Roh pursued the policy of Nordpolitik and established diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union and China. Relations with North Korea improved during his presidency, and the two Koreas were simultaneously admitted into the United Nations in 1991. Barred from running for a second term, Roh was succeeded by Kim Young-sam in 1993.

In 1996, Roh and Chun were convicted for corruption as well as their roles in the 1979 coup and the Gwangju massacre; Roh was sentenced to 17 years in prison while Chun was given a life sentence. Both were pardoned the following year by President Kim Young-sam on advice of incoming President-elect Kim Dae-jung.^[6][7] Roh died on 26 October 2021, at the age of 88.^[8]

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