Roh Moo-hyun

In this Korean name, the family name is Roh.

Roh Moo-hyun
GOM
노무현
Official portrait, 2003
9th President of South Korea
In office
25 February 2003 – 24 February 2008[a]
Prime Minister
Preceded byKim Dae-jung
Succeeded byLee Myung-bak
6th Minister of Oceans and Fisheries
In office
7 August 2000 – 25 March 2001
PresidentKim Dae-jung
Prime MinisterLee Han-dong
Preceded byLee Hang-kyu
Succeeded byChung Woo-taik
Member of the National Assembly
In office
22 July 1998 – 29 May 2000
Preceded byLee Myung-bak
Succeeded byChung In-bong
ConstituencyJongno
In office
30 May 1988 – 29 May 1992
Preceded byPark Chan-jong
Kim Jung-kil
Succeeded byHur Sam-soo
ConstituencyDong
Personal details
Born(1946-09-01)1 September 1946
Pongha, southern Korea
Died23 May 2009(2009-05-23) (aged 62)
Bongha Village, South Korea
Political partyReunification Democratic (1987–1990)
Democratic (1990–1991)
Democratic (1991–1995)
National Congress for New Politics (1995–2000)
Democratic (2000–2003)
Uri (2003–2007)
Independent (2007–2009)
Spouse
​
(m. 1972)​
Signature
Military service
Branch/serviceRepublic of Korea Army
Years of service1968–1971
RankCorporal
Korean name
Hangul
노무현
Hanja
盧武鉉
Revised RomanizationNo Muhyeon
McCune–ReischauerNo Muhyŏn

Roh Moo-hyun GOM (Korean: 노무현; Korean pronunciation: [no muçʌn]; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea between 2003 and 2008.

Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea. His electoral career later expanded to a focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his election to the presidency. He achieved a large following among younger internet users, which aided his success in the presidential election.[1][2] Roh's election was notable for the arrival in power of a new generation of Korean politicians, the so-called 386 Generation (people in their thirties, when the term was coined, who had attended university in the 1980s and who were born in the 1960s).[3][4] This generation had been veterans of student protests against authoritarian rule and advocated a conciliatory approach towards North Korea, even at the expense of good relations with the United States.[5] Roh himself was the first South Korean president to be born after the end of Japanese rule in Korea.

South Korea received the highest marks on the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index under his administration. The value of the South Korean won against the US dollar was the strongest during his administration since 1997.[6] Due to the strong currency, for the first time in history, South Korea became the world's 10th largest economy and exceeded the $20,000 milestone in nominal GDP per capita during his administration. However, despite high expectations at the beginning of his presidency,[7] Roh encountered strong opposition from both the opposition conservative Grand National Party and media, and he was frequently accused of incompetence.[8] As a result, many of Roh's policies, such as a plan to move the capital of South Korea and a plan to form a coalition with the opposition, made little progress. Because of his poor performance in economy and diplomacy, Roh was not a popular president, having the worst approval rating on average ever recorded in South Korean political history.[9][10][11] His economic policy was often criticized for persisting with certain[vague] obsolete economic views and failing certain[vague] livelihood issues.[10][12]

After leaving office, Roh returned to his hometown of Bongha Maeul. He ran a duck farm and lived an ordinary life, sharing it through his blog. He also ran a website called "Democracy 2.0" to promote healthy online discussions.[13] Fourteen months later, Roh was suspected of bribery by prosecutors, and the subsequent investigations attracted public attention.[14] Roh committed suicide on 23 May 2009 when he jumped from a mountain cliff behind his home, after saying that "there are too many people suffering because of me" on a suicide note on his computer.[15] About 4 million people visited Roh's hometown Bongha Village in the week following his death. His suicide was confirmed by police.[16] Public opinion on Roh has improved considerably since his death, which has taken into account his human rights background and national economic progress during his presidency. In a 2019 Gallup Korea poll, Roh was cited as the most popular president in South Korean history amongst the general public.[17]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Watts, Jonathan (24 February 2003). "World's first internet President logs on". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  2. ^ "The Web Site That Elected a President". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. 24 February 2003. Archived from the original on 7 March 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Out with the old". Newsweek. 4 August 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  4. ^ "Korea's Young Lions". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. 24 February 2003. Archived from the original on 7 March 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  5. ^ "South Korea: Too Much Activism?". Newsweek. 27 November 2006. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  6. ^ "The Fed – Foreign Exchange Rates – Country Data – H.10".
  7. ^ Jung, Ha-yun (25 February 2003). "Democracy takes office in South Korea". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  8. ^ 디지털뉴스팀 (23 May 2011). 김동길 "노무현이 잘한 일이 뭔가"...독설 쏟아내 – 경향신문. Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  9. ^ Mizuno, Kosuke (2009). Populism in Asia. Singapore: Nus Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-9971694838.
  10. ^ a b "South Korea's President Sags in Opinion Polls". The New York Times. 27 November 2006.
  11. ^ "Daily Opinion No. 237 (November 2016)". Gallup Korea. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  12. ^ Mizuno, Kosuke (2009). Populism in Asia. Singapore: Nus Press. pp. 177–179. ISBN 978-9971694838.
  13. ^ 노무현.
  14. ^ 노 전 대통령, 재직중 알았다면 '포괄적 뇌물죄' 가능성. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 7 April 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  15. ^ Kim, Kwang-Tae (23 May 2009). "SKorean ex-president Roh dies in apparent suicide". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  16. ^ "Ex-President Roh Jumps to His Death". The Korea Times. 23 May 2009. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2019 Gallup Korea poll was invoked but never defined (see the help page).