INTERNATIONAL: South Korea’s former president Roh Tae-woo has died at the age of 88 on Tuesday. According to South Korean media reports, Roh Tae-woo has been suffering from a series of health problems since 2002. He has also undergone cancer surgery and frequent hospitalisations for the last few years.
Roh was born on 17 August 1932 into a farming family in Tatsujō-gun, near Taikyū, Keishōhoku-dō. He served as the president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. He was a leader of the Democratic Justice Party and was known for passing the June 29 Declaration in 1987. During the Korean War in1950-1953, Roh joined the South Korean army. He became a commissioned officer in the infantry from 1954 and received promotions through the ranks. He 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.
Before he became president of South Korea, Roh was involved in the 12 December 1979 Coup d'état against then-President Choi Kyu-hah and the bloody military crackdown of dissidents in the Gwangju Uprising of 18-27 May. He then distanced himself from the unpopular Chun government, carrying out his own agenda for democratic reform. Roh successfully upstaged Chun and boosted his own image as a reformer by agreeing to meeting the demands of the political opposition in terms of political reforms.
