Roh Tae-woo (born December 4, 1932 in Daegu, is a former Korean general and politician. He was the sixth President of South Korea|president of South Korea (1988–1993). A member of the Hanahoi, Roh was the hand-picked successor of the ex-general and president Chun Doo-hwan, triggering large pro-democracy rallies in Seoul and other cities in 1987. In response, Roh agreed to hold democratic presidential elections, making himself a viable candidate for the next election. The opposition split the votes, largely along regional lines, between Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung (both of whom later became presidents), making Roh the first elected president of the post-military rule era.
Roh's rule was notable for hosting the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and for his foreign policy of nordpolitik, which represented a major break from previous administrations.
In 1993, Roh's successor Kim Young-sam led an anti-corruption campaign that saw Roh and Chun on trial for bribery. The two former presidents were later separately charged with mutiny and treason for their roles in the 1979 Coup d'état of December Twelfth and the 1980 Gwangju Massacre.
Both were convicted in August 1996 of treason, mutiny and corruption; Chun was sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment, while Roh's 22 1/2-year jail sentence was reduced to 17 years on appeal. Both were released from prison in early 1998, pardoned by then-President Kim Dae-jung.
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