Roh Tae Woo
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 노태우 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 盧泰愚 |
| Revised Romanization | No Tae-u |
| McCune–Reischauer | No T'aeu |
| Pen name | |
| Hangul | 용당 |
| Hanja | 庸堂 |
| Revised Romanization | Yongdang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yongdang |
Roh Tae-woo (Korean pronunciation: [no.tʰɛ̝.u]; born December 4, 1933) is a former South Korean politician and ROK Army general who served as the 6th President of South Korea from 1988 to 1993.
Roh was born on December 4 1933, into a farming family, Talsong, near Taegu, North Kyongsang Province. His father, a low-echelon civil officer in the district, died in a car accident when Roh was seven years old. With his uncle's help, Roh first enrolled at the Taegu Technical School but transferred to the local Kyongbuk High School where he was an above-average student. His high school record describes him as a "gentle and hard-working student with a strong sense of responsibility." Roh befriended Chun Doo-hwan while in high school in Daegu.
During the Korean War (1950-1953), Roh joined the Korean Army as an enlisted conscript in an Artillery unit, being promoted to Sergeant Cannoneer of an M114 155 mm howitzer gun line. He later entered the Korean Military Academy, completing it in the first class of the four-year program, he graduated in February 1954 with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as an Army 2nd Lieutenant in the 11th class of the Korea Military Academy (KMA).
A commissioned officer in the infantry from 1954, Roh rose steadily through the ranks and fought in the Vietnam War first in 1968 as a Lieutenant Colonel and Battalion Commander, later was promoted to Major General and the commander of White Horse Division in 1979. A member of the Hanahoe, a secret military group, he gave critical support to a coup later that year in which Chun became the de facto ruler of South Korea. Roh was a military general when he helped Chun lead troops to the Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980.
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