Roh Moo-hyun

Roh Moo-hyun 노무현
16th President of South Korea
In office February 25, 2003 – February 25, 2008
Prime Minister	Goh Kun Lee Hae Chan Han Myung-sook Han Duck-soo
Preceded by	Kim Dae-jung
Succeeded by	Lee Myung-bak
Personal details
Born	(1946-09-01)1 September 1946 Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea
Died	23 May 2009(2009-05-23) (aged 62) Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea
Political party	Uri Party (2003-2007), Millennium Democratic Party (1988-2003)
Spouse	Kwon Yang-sook

Korean name
Hangul	노무현
Hanja	盧武鉉
Revised Romanization	No Muhyeon
McCune–Reischauer	No Mu-hyŏn

Roh Moo-hyun (Korean pronunciation: [nomuʝʌn]; (August 6, 1946 - May 23, 2009) was the 16th President of South Korea. He held the position from February 25, 2003 to February 25, 2008. Before entering politics, he was a human rights lawyer.

Roh's pre-presidential political career 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. The election was strongly influenced by activists on the Internet, particularly via OhmyNews, the first time this had ever happened in Korea.

Roh's election was notable for the arrival to power of a new generation in Korean politics, the so-called 386 Generation, (i.e. people in their 30's when the word was coined, who had atttended university in the 80's, and who were born in the 60's). This generation had been veterans of student protests against authoritarian rule, and advocated an assertively nationalist line towards the United States and Japan, and a conciliatory approach towards North Korea. They took up many positions on Roh's staff.

Despite high initial hopes, however, Roh's administration quickly became dogged by allegations of incompetence, while Roh's frequent indulgence in personal clashes with his opponents and critics eroded public support. Conflict would continue throughout his presidency, which was characterized by continuous labor unrest, personal feuds with the media, and diplomatic friction with the United States and Japan. Many of Roh's seemingly reckless political campaigns, including a plan to move the capital, and a plan to form a coalition with the opposition, also fizzled.

One year and two months after leaving office, Roh became the center of an ongoing bribery scandal. This scandal, the collapse of the "Pro-Roh faction" of politicians,the collapse of the Uri Party and the defeat of its successor Democratic Party in the National Assembly, and the defeat of Roh's designated successor in the presidential elections, marked a decline in the fortunes of the 386 Generation that had brought Roh to power.

Personal background

Kwon Yang-sook and Roh Moo-hyun at the 2006 APEC gala dinner with President Vladimir Putin of Russia (centre) and George W. Bush and Laura Bush (right)

Roh was born in 1946 to a farming family in Gimhae, near Busan, in southeastern South Korea. In 1960, he led a protest at his school against mandatory essays extolling then-President Syngman Rhee. A high school graduate who never attended university, he worked at odd jobs after serving in the Korean army.

He studied on his own to pass the bar exam in 1975. In 1977, he became a regional judge in Daejeon, and began practicing tax law in 1978. In 1981, he defended students who had been tortured for possession of contraband literature. In early 2003, he was quoted as saying, "When I saw their horrified eyes and their missing toenails, my comfortable life as a lawyer came to an end. I became a man that wanted to make a difference in the world." He opposed the autocracy in place at the time in South Korea, and participated in the pro-democracy June Struggle in 1987 against Chun Doo-Hwan.

Early political career

In 1988, Roh was nominated by Unified Democratic Party (Template:Lang-ko) and entered politics. He was elected as a member of the National Assembly representing Dong-gu, Busan. He grilled the government over political corruption allegations in a parliamentary hearing, which won him his first public attention. He ran for re-election in 1992 again in Dong-gu, Busan, but was defeated. He returned to office in 1998, when Lee Myung-bak resigned his seat because of a violation of election law, winning a seat in the ensuing by-election.

In 2000, Roh ran for the National Assembly representing Buk-gu and Gangseo-gu in Busan in an attempt to overcome regionalism in Korean politics, but was defeated. His defeat in the election, however, proved fortuitous when his supporters formed Nosamo, the first political fan club in Korea. His supporters were inspired by his commitment to overcoming regionalism.

In 2000, Roh was appointed as the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries under Kim Dae Jung, and this position would constitute his only real government experience prior to the presidency. Roh would later use his lack of experience to his advantage in a populist presidential campaign, depicting himself as a newcomer and outsider unbeholden to the traditional business and political elites. Roh won the presidency on December 19, 2002, by defeating Lee Hoi-chang with a narrow 2% margin of victory. Roh's surprise election was made possible by a last minute Internet and text message campaign that targeted younger voters, as well as a wave of anti-American sentiment that had swept the country in the previous year.

Presidency

The first year

Roh entered office intent on introducing an ambitious new agenda—including the continuance of the existing Sunshine Policy of engagement towards North Korea, the establishment of Korea as a business hub in Northeast Asia, the expansion of social welfare, the pursuit of "balanced national development" to help underdeveloped areas, the eradication of corruption, reform of the education and tax systems, reform of labor-management relations, reform of the media, and a recasting of the relationship with the United States and Japan. This program stumbled early on due to campaign finance scandals within his administration, and a series of gaffes on the part of Roh.

Three months into his presidency, Roh bolstered skepticism about his ability and experience when he stated, "I feel incompetent as president and a sense of crisis that I will not be able to perform my presidential duties." Roh set the tone of his administration with a number of political gambles, including threats to quit pursuant to a national referendum, and measures to uncover and reveal the names of the descendants of Japanese collaborators more than six decades after the Japanese had left Korea. The investigations, criticized as politically motivated, and coming far too late to provide any substantive redress, mostly resulted in damage to his own party members.

Uri Party and impeachment

Roh and his supporters left the Millennium Democratic Party in 2003 to form a new party, the Uri Party (열린우리당, lit. "Our Open Party"). Roh's popularity was rapidly declining by that point, principally on perceptions of mismanagement of the economy. His conciliatory North Korea policy was derided as appeasement by his opponents, while his decision to send troops to Iraq upon US request was controversial with his dwindling supporters. Controversy within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade led to the replacement of the Minister, and a contentious free trade treaty with Chile brought farmers to the streets. Labor unrest continued nearly uninterrupted from the time he assumed the presidency,

Directly ahead of the National Assembly elections, Roh voiced support for the Uri Party, which constituted a technical violation of Constitutional provisions mandating presidential impartiality in Assembly elections. When Roh refused demands to apologize, opposition lawmakers saw their chance, and on March 12, 2004, the South Korean National Assembly voted to impeach him on charges of illegal electioneering and incompetence. The vote was 193-2 (Uri Party members abstained from the vote). Roh's supporters physically blocked the motion for 3 days in open combat, and had to be hauled out by security guards. Roh's executive power was suspended pending a final decision by the Constitutional Court, and Prime Minister Goh Kun ran the country as the Acting President.

The National Assembly's attempt to impeach Roh was largely opposed by the public. Although Roh's popularity had hovered around the 30%, many thought the impeachment was harsh and heavy-handed, and Roh's popularity went up dramaticallysoon after the assembly's vote to impeach Roh. The results of the April 2004 parliamentary election showed public support for him, with the Uri Party winning a majority of seats.

On May 14, 2004, the Constitutional Court overturned the impeachment decision, restoring Roh as President, and allowing Roh to enjoy a brief period of increased support.

After the reinstatement

Roh did little to modify his style upon his return, and both his and his party’s popularity rapidly fell to even lower levels than before. Again perceptions of neglect and mismanagement of the economy outweighed any political considerations. Although exports performed at record levels and the economy grew, growth still lagged behind both the previous administration and the rest of the world, while the domestic economy stagnated. At the same time regulations proliferated, investment capital exited the country, unemployment (especially among the young) increased, wealthy students flocked overseas as the education system stagnated, and housing prices in Seoul soared far beyond the reach of the average citizen. Roh responded by flatly rejecting criticism, instead lauding the achievements of his government in pumping up stock prices. This somewhat cavalier attitude led to his Uri Party suffering consecutive defeats in the Assembly, before eventually collapsing, as Roh became so unpopular that a new party was needed just to disassociate with him.

Roh’s ambitious initial promises to establish Korea as an international business hub in Asia disappeared almost completely soon after his election. Instead, Korea under Roh suffered negative publicity from prosecutorial investigations on the purchase and sale of Korea Exchange Bank by the Lone Star Fund, spurring foreign investors to join their domestic counterparts in leaving the country. When housing prices soared, Roh responded by drastically raising taxes and imposing price controls, rather than increasing the supply of housing in Seoul. This actually decreased the supply of housing available. At the same time, Roh also increased welfare spending by 18% a year, and drastically increased spending by increasing the size of the civil service by more than 95,700 new hires, or approximately 60 people a day. Criticism of lax discipline among the civil service and police force was high during his reign.

The remainder of Roh’s term was characterized by a number of desultory campaigns pursued to varying degrees of success and completion. One of the more successful campaigns (at least during his term) was Roh’s pursuit of an FTA with the United States, concluded in April 2007 after many months of negotiations. Roh successfully pushed for the FTA in spite of domestic opposition from his traditional leftist constituency (who denounced it as “neoliberal”) and various groups (particularly farmers) opposed to market opening. The FTA, however, is as of yet unratified in the legislatures of both countries.

As part of his “balanced national development” campaign to reverse the concentration of wealth in Seoul, Roh also pursued a plan to relocate the capital 100 miles away to Chungcheong, ostensibly to relieve congestion. Roh had made this promise during his campaign, and doggedly pursued its fulfillment, despite never making clear how such a costly move would benefit the public, and little interest in the relocation among voters outside of Chungcheong. After much controversy, the Constitutional Court obviated Roh’s plans by ruling that the relocation of the capital was unconstitutional, thus inflicting a huge blow to Roh's political standing. Roh's plan was then amended to the creation of an "administrative capital," though this plan too never saw completion.

'The grand coalition'

The ruling Uri Party had lost in every by-election under Roh's leadership, and there was no exception in the by-elections held on April 30, 2005, when the party was defeated in every one of the 23 electoral districts. Facing the outcome of his unpopularity, Roh took a rather strange measure to save his presidency when he proposed a grand coalition with the opposition Grand National Party. Roh's rationale was that since it was impossible to continue his presidency with an approval rate of around 20 percent, a grand coalition comprising the Opened We Party and the Grand National Party was desirable, and that the difference between both parties in terms of political agendas was actually minute. Roh promised he would yield much of his power and might even resign from office if a grand coalition was successfully launched.

Roh's proposal for the grand coalition stirred yet another national controversy. Many called his plan "reckless and completely ignorant" of the sentiments of people still ailing from repeated political controversies and economic hardships. Many of the Opened We Party's supporters who identify as liberals were enraged at Roh holding that his party was not really different from the conservative opposition. The Grand National Party, enjoying relatively strong approval rate but still bent on revenge for the party's defeat in major elections, repeatedly declined to initiate a negotiation for the coalition. While the Opened We Party grudgingly supported the President's proposal, a lawmaker defected from the party in protest of Roh's plan, and the loss of popularity was felt when the party suffered yet another complete defeat in the by-election on October 26, 2005, this time including one of the party's stronghold electoral districts. Roh's plan was scrapped, having failed to garner support from either political faction. However, Roh has announced that another proposal is on the way, scheduled to be issued in early 2006, to resolve national problems which includes plans for his course.

Libel lawsuit

On September 6, 2007, the South Korea presidential office announced that it would file forthwith a libel case against conservative opposition Grand National Party (GNP) (frontrunner in December's election), Lee Myung-bak. Lee enjoys 50% support in opinion polls against 10% for the leading candidate of the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP) Roh Moo-Hyun. Moon Jae-In, chief presidential secretary, stated that the criminal case will be filed to preserve trust in the government.

Trade Policy

Roh Moo-hyun initiated numerous free trade agreement negotiations, including U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement which was the most controversial as Roh benefited from an anti-us presidency campaign. Kim Hyun-jong, who was the deputy minister for trade and later the minister for trade for 4 years in Roh administration and therefore who had led most of Roh administration's FTAs, took aggressive and speedy steps toward free trade, getting himself fierce accusations from opponents and strong praises from supporters.

Foreign relations

United States

Roh with U.S. President Bush during a White House visit in May 2003

Roh with Bush during APEC 2005 in Korea.

Roh was perceived as an anti-American before the presidential race, which was not a handicap during the presidential campaign. Public antipathy to the United States was prevalent in 2002, which was particularly evoked by the incident where two South Korean high school girls were crushed to death by an armored truck driven by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army soldiers were not even demanded a formal trial. Roh once remarked that anti-Americanism could be allowable before he won the presidency and it worked in Roh's favor and led many people to believe that he would lead an independent line in terms of relation with the U.S.

However, many Koreans who supported Roh during the presidential campaign felt betrayed when Roh and the National Assembly decided to deploy troops to Iraq in support of the U.S. leading military campaign. Roh explained the deployment as only a peacekeeping mission and claimed that such commitment was required to bring favor from the U.S. in resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis.

In February 2006, Roh announced that South Korea would initiate negotiations with the U.S. for a free trade agreement. Many including Roh's former economic advisor expressed concerns that the government was acting hastily and the effect of the agreement would be detrimental to certain sectors of the nation's economy such as agriculture. Despite such opposition, Roh repeatedly supported the idea.

Japan

See also: Korean-Japanese disputes

Roh Moo-hyun with then-Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and U.S. President George W. Bush at APEC 2006 in Hanoi.

South Korea's relationship with Japan was in a healthy condition when Roh entered office. However, his first visit to the neighboring country in 2003 was scheduled on a date that coincided with Korean Memorial Day.

During the visit, Roh proclaimed he would not seek any more apologies from Japan over its colonial occupation, in the hope of maintaining a friendly relationship between the two countries. Although Roh's proclamation was made in good faith, some expressed concern that Japan may have interpreted this as the termination of its responsibility for the colonial past, and use it as an excuse to deny any claims for compensation that may arise in the future.

Despite Roh's hope, relations with Japan deteriorated henceforth, in several areas of conflict such as compensation issues for comfort women, denial of the colonial past in Japanese history textbooks, and disputes over the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima). Another sensitive issue, former Prime Minister Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine were harshly criticized in South Korea, and Roh declared no further meetings with Koizumi would take place unless he stopped visiting the shrine.

Although being on bad terms with Japan, a very important trading and tourism partner were not in Korea's national interest, Roh himself benefited from the disputes. His approval rating saw a momentary surge with every breakout of disputes, and he took advantage of the situation in a number of nationally televised speeches dealing with diplomatic issues.

In an address to the nation on April 25, 2006 regarding disputes over the Liancourt Rocks, Roh reaffirmed that he didn't seek another apology from Japan, but demanded that Japan take action in compliance with its past apologies. The speech was applauded by many Koreans despite Roh's low popularity. The then-Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi characterized the speech as intended for domestic audiences.

Retirement

After leaving office, Roh retired to Bongha Maeul, his hometown. This marked a break with previous custom, where former presidents retired to heavily guarded houses in Seoul. Bongha – a village of 121 people – became a minor tourist attraction due to Roh's presence. .

Death

Roh Moo-Hyun died on 23 May 2009 after falling into a ravine while climbing a mountain. He received serious head wounds and was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The South Korean news agency, Yonhap, is claiming a suicide note was left. However, currently, It is not concluded wether if he commited suicide or if it is an accident. Investigation is proceeding.

Presidential Record-gate

Since he left office, an investigation found that 238 computer disks, including the 72-terabyte presidential records of Roh administration "disappeared" from the presidential residence sometime before President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008. Roh claimed that it was approved by president Lee. This disappearance was controversial for few months, and ended with Roh returning the archives.

Allegations of bribery

In early 2009, allegations of corruption had begun to surface regarding the former President's family and aides, eventually leading to the indictment of Roh’s elder brother Roh Gun-Pyeong on suspicion of influence peddling. It soon became clear that investigation would have to expand to encompass Roh Moo-Hyun’s aides, as well as other members of his family. As the investigation closed in on Roh's former secretary, Chung Sang-Moon, Roh made the surprise announcement on his website that "The accusation should be directed at us, not Chung. My family made the request, received money and used it." By May of 2009, prosecutors had summoned Roh’s wife, son, and eventually the former President himself on suspicion of receiving a total of 6 million dollars in bribes from Park Yeon-Cha, a businessman close to the ex-President. Roh was subject to initial written questioning by prosecutors, before direct questioning, prior to which he apologized again to the public and stated that “he was overwhelmed by shame.”

Roh’s investigation for corruption proved especially disappointing to his supporters because he had campaigned on pledges to "clean up the presidency," and root out corruption, while condemning his opponents as hopelessly corrupt.

In one speech to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Korea's "June Struggle" for democracy, Roh vehemently attacked critics who described him as incompetent, stating, "They even deal out the absurd rhetoric that they would rather have a corrupt administration than an inept one while openly revealing their true colors as forces of corruption and the security-driven dictatorships of the past. What’s more, they label the democratic forces as being inept, plotting to rise to power on the back of the nostalgia for the development-oriented dictatorships of the past."

Roh's self-righteous stance resulted in harsh condemnation of the ex-President for hypocrisy when the scandal broke, a criticism he himself acknowledged in a message on his website when he stated, "I have lost my moral cause just with the facts I have so far admitted. The only thing left is the legal procedure" Roh further added, "What I have to do now is bow to the nation and apologize. From now on, the name Roh cannot be a symbol of the values you pursue. I'm no longer qualified to speak about democracy and justice. . . . You should abandon me." Despite these appeals, Roh continued to deny all knowledge of the receipt of money by his family from Park Yeon-Cha, in contradiction to Park's testimony. Roh refused cross-examination with Park.

In contrast to scandals involving previous Presidents, who reportedly used illicit funds to finance political campaigns, Roh is alleged to have used illicit funds for the personal use of his family, including the payment of living expenses for his children in the United States.

By mid-May, prosecutors were investigating the confidant of the current President, Lee Myung Bak. Prosecutors had also turned up new evidence sufficient to physically detain Roh, as his family members had admitted to destroying evidence of their receipt of watches worth $100,000 each, as well as the contract for a luxury apartment in the New York area allegedly purchased with illicit funds. Roh's brother was also sentenced to a four year jail term for bribery.

Of note, Korea's criminal justice system is largely inherited from Japan, and under this system, prosecutors are reluctant to bring a case in which a guilty verdict is not 100% certain. It is likely that this is is the reason why Roh Moo Hyun was never arraigned, despite what would constitute probable cause under other systems of justice.

See also

• Politics of South Korea
• South Korean presidential election, 2002
• List of Korea-related topics
• Roh's involvement in Hwang Woo-suk scandal
• U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement
• South Korean presidential election, 2007

External links

• Official English page of Roh Moo-hyun
• The Opened We Party (in Korean)
• Nosamo: Roh Moo-hyun's fan club (in Korean)
• "Roh Defiant on Korea-US Tension", The Chosun Ilbo, January 25, 2006.
• "Profile: Roh Moo-hyun", BBC News, May 14, 2004.
• "The Roh Impeachment: An American Perspective", The Jeju Times, February 2003.
• "President Roh Moo-hyun and the New Politics of South Korea", The Asia Society, February 2003.
• "Roh Moo-hyun, South's Man of the People", The Age, February 26, 2003.
• "Profile: President-elect Roh Moo-hyun", CNN, December 31, 2002.
• Cheong Wa Dae Office of the President (English)