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Roh Tae-woo

Roh Tae-woo
노태우
Roh Tae-woo - cropped, 1989-Mar-13.jpg
Roh in 1989
6th President of South Korea
In office
February 25, 1988 – February 24, 1993
Prime Minister Lee Hyun Jae
Kang Young Hoon
Roh Jai Bong
Shin Hyon Hwak
Chung Won Shik
Hyun Soong-jong
Preceded by Chun Doo-hwan
Succeeded by Kim Young-sam
President of the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee
In office
July 11, 1983 – May 7, 1986
Leader Juan Antonio Samaranch
Preceded by Kim Yong-shik
Succeeded by Park Seh-jik
Personal details
Born (1933-12-04) December 4, 1933 (age 83)
Dalseong County, North Gyeongsang, Japanese Korea
(now Dong-gu, Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea)
Nationality South Korea
Political party Independent
Spouse(s) Kim Ok-suk
Children SohYeong Roh(daughter)
Roh Jae-heon(son)
Alma mater Korea Military Academy (B.S.)
Religion BuddhismProtestantism
Signature
Military service
Allegiance  South Korea
Service/branch  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 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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