Roh Moo-hyun

He was ranked first in the 2019 Gallup South Korea survey asking for the greatest president.

The 2013 film The Attorney starring Song Kang-ho is a dramatic adaptation of Roh's early human rights law career. It became the eighth highest-grossing film in South Korean history at the time of its release, and was the second-highest grossing South Korean film of 2013 behind Miracle in Cell No. 7.

As a 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 South Chungcheong Province, ostensibly to relieve congestion. Roh had made this promise during his campaign, and pursued its fulfillment, despite convincing few voters outside the Chungcheong region of the benefits of the move. After much controversy, the Constitutional Court obviated Roh's plans by ruling that the relocation of the capital was unconstitutional because it 'opposes the custom that has to be considered as the constitution', 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 has also not yet seen completion. The issue of the proposed "administrative capital" remains controversial as of 2010 in plans for Sejong City, the exact nature of which continues to be a politically divisive issue even within the ruling Grand National Party.

The 8th president, Kim Dae-jung, stated that "President Roh Moo-hyun loved Koreans more than any other presidents [...] During the unfair investigation, he suffered from all sorts of humiliation, chagrin, deception, and defamation, which left him no option but to commit suicide before his countryman to show his innocence." The 10th president, Lee Myung-bak, stated that "the news was truly unbelievable and deeply saddening." Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han said the corruption case against him would be formally closed. However, he did not say whether the former president's family would continue to be investigated.

In January 2010, dissatisfaction with the poor electoral showing of the minority Democratic Party, and a posthumous reappraisal of Roh Moo-hyun's presidency spurred the creation of a new party, the "Participation Party." This party was created to "revive the spirit of former President Roh Moo-hyun."

In 2010, a year after his death, the politicians who were Roh's aides won the local elections and became the provincial government heads. In January 2012, Han Myung-Sook who had been one of the prime ministers in Roh's tenure was elected party leader of the biggest opposition party, Democratic United Party. She officially made clear "succession of Roh's policy". Although his policy was regarded as failure when he was in the position, it has been reevaluated as liberal and nationalistic, compared to Lee Myung-Bak's authoritarian and pro-US policy. Even a conservative professor, Lee Sang-don, who had severely criticized Roh's policy, said that "Roh became a myth (of our age)."

On the 10th anniversary of his passing, former US President George W. Bush paid respects at the annual memorial ceremony for Roh Moo-hyun.

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. Fourteen months later, Roh was suspected of bribery by prosecutors, and the subsequent investigations attracted public attention. Roh died by 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. About 4 million people visited Roh's hometown Bongha Village in the week following his death. His suicide was confirmed by police. Public opinion on Roh has improved considerably since his death, which take into account his humans 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.

On 7 April 2009, Chung Sang-Moon, the former secretary of Roh Moo-hyun was arrested on charges. 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. The investigation soon expanded 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 announced on his website that "The accusation should be directed at our household, not Chung. Our household made the request, received money and used it." At the same time, Roh claimed that he himself had not known of the money transfer before his retirement. By May 2009, prosecutors had summoned Roh's wife, son, and eventually the former president himself on suspicion of receiving 1 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 Moo-Hyun was found seriously injured on the morning of 23 May 2009 after apparently jumping from a 45-meter (150 ft) cliff known as Bueong'i Bawi (lit. Owl's Rock) behind his rural home in his home village of Bongha. He sustained serious head injuries and was sent by car to Seyoung hospital nearby at 7:20 am and moved to Busan University Hospital at around 8:15 am (and pronounced dead at around 9:30 am (00:30 GMT). Police investigators ruled out conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Roh. According to police, Roh switched on his computer and typed a hastily worded suicide note.

A State Funeral was held from May 23, 2009, to May 29, 2009 and it was attended by President Lee Myung-bak, First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, former First Lady Lee Hee-ho, former presidents Kim Dae-jung, Kim Young-sam and members of National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. However, former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were absent. The funeral started from his hometown, Bong-Ha village, with his body transported to Seoul via a hearse, with a convoy with his family moving together. Then, he was cremated in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do and his ashes were buried in his hometown in accordance with his will, which was recorded on the suicide note.

He died about 3 months before former President Kim Dae-jung died on 18 August 2009 of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Former Prime Minister Han Myung-suk and others claimed that the investigation of Roh's corruption case leading to his death was President Lee's political revenge and murder.

On 4 December 2008, Roh Moo-hyun's elder brother, Roh Gun-Pyeong, was indicted on charges of illegally taking 3 million won ($3,000) from former Daewoo Engineering & Construction and imprisoned.

The remainder of Roh's term was characterized by a number of 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 by Kim Hyun-jong, the deputy minister for trade.

In April 2007, Roh presided over an emergency meeting of his aides to discuss the diplomatic fallout from the massacre at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the United States by a South Korean student, Cho Seung-hui, concerning its negative impact on South Korea-U.S. relations. They were discussing comprehensive measures to cope with the unprecedented incident, including issuance of presidential messages of apology and plans to prevent possible harassment of South Koreans living in the United States. Roh issued two messages of condolence already on 17 April 2007.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates described Roh as "anti-American and probably a little crazy" in his book titled Duty, and professed astonishment at Roh telling him at the meeting in November 2007 that "the two biggest security threats in Asia were the United States and Japan".

In February 2006, Roh announced that South Korea would initiate negotiations with the United States for a free trade agreement.

In an address to the nation on 25 April 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 then-Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi characterized the speech as intended for domestic audiences.

As a result of the controversy concerning the capital, and public dissatisfaction of economic development, Uri party lost much of its popularity. When the Uri party was defeated in by-elections held on 30 April 2005, losing every one of the 23 electoral districts, Uri Party lost its majority in the National Assembly. Facing the outcome of his unpopularity, Roh took a rather strange measure to manage the government 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 Uri 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 Uri 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 Uri 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 26 October 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.

According to Rep. Chung Mong-joon, former leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, "The Roh Moo-hyun administration proposed that the U.S. define Japan as a hypothetical enemy," at the Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul in October 2005. "President Roh proposed it because the general public had bad feelings against Japan and Korea had a territorial dispute over the Dokdo islets with Japan, Washington was very embarrassed since it had hoped Korea and Japan would go hand-in-hand as free and democratic countries. A hypothetical enemy in English implies a main enemy."

Roh and his supporters left the Millennium Democratic Party in 2003 to form a new party, the Uri Party (열린우리당; lit. "Our Open Party"). 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. After Roh refused to apologize, led by the opposition parties holding the majority, the Assembly voted to impeach him for illegal electioneering on 12 March 2004. The vote was 193–2 (Uri Party members abstained from the vote). Roh's supporters physically blocked the motion for three 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. From 12 March 2004, to 27 March, protest against the impeachment motion was led by 'citizen's movement for eradicating corruption'. According to the police, 50,000 people gathered to protest on 13 March alone.

Although Roh's popularity had hovered around 30%, the impeachment was taken as a power struggle against the political reform and the choice of the citizen, and Roh's popularity went up soon 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 14 May 2004, the Constitutional Court overturned the impeachment decision, restoring Roh as president. After the incident, Roh joined the Uri party as a member, officially making the Uri party as the ruling party. It was the first time that a liberal party achieved a majority in the National Assembly.

However, except for the policy toward the North Korea, Roh was supportive toward the United States. Roh endeavored to improve relations with North Korea, becoming the first president to cross the border by foot and meeting Kim Jong-il. He dispatched the Zaytun Division to support the US in the Iraq War by carrying out peacekeeping and other reconstruction-related tasks. Roh explained the deployment as only a peacekeeping mission and claimed that such commitment was required to bring favor from the United States in resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis. He also pursued the KORUS FTA. In 2004, the Roh administration reached an agreement with the US to move out all US forces in the capital to Camp Humphreys, a rural area far away from the capital or major cities, as he deemed the USFK's presence in the capital unnecessary and harming its reputation and development.

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.

Roh won the presidency on 19 December 2002, by defeating Lee Hoi-chang with a narrow 2% margin of victory. At 2003, right before his inauguration, he described his plan as "I will root the method of discussion inside the government.", and added, "discussion should be familiarized until we are called 'Republic of discussion'."

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, particularly evoked by the Yangju highway incident, where two South Korean middle school girls were crushed to death by a U.S. Army armored bridge-laying vehicle. The American soldiers involved were tried by a U.S. Army court martial, but the Roh administration continued to demand a South Korean trial, although the incident occurred 'on duty' (as part of a convoy) and thus was an American responsibility under the Status of Forces Agreement between the United States and South Korea.

In 2000, Roh ran for the National Assembly representing Buk-gu and Gangseo-gu in Busan as part of a campaign 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 Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries under Kim Dae-jung, and this position would constitute his major government experience prior to the presidency.

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. 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.

Subsequently, Roh reconciled with Kim when he endorsed his candidacy in the 1997 Presidential election. At the meeting, Kim Dae-jung welcomed Roh and his party saying "Today is a very pleasant day. That pleasure is not only because we now work together, but also because I could relieve a burden in my mind that I have been carrying (since we separated)." Roh 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.

Having lost his seat in the 1992 Assembly elections, he later ran for the mayorship of Busan in 1995, where he lost again. Shortly after the election, Kim Dae-jung founded the National Congress for New Politics, but Roh did not join. In 1996, he ran for the Assembly seat for Jung-gu in Seoul, losing to another future president, Lee Myung-bak.

In 1991, before the election of the national assembly, the Weekly Chosun posted an article that alleging that Roh was a politician with hidden wealth. Roh sued the company for defamation and won, but lost the election for his seat.

In 1990, Kim Young-sam merged his party with the Democratic Justice Party to form the Democratic Liberal Party, a forerunner of the Grand National Party. Roh did not participate in the party and he criticized it as "betrayal against the democracy movement".

Roh entered politics in 1988 when he was invited by Kim Young-sam to join the Reunification Democratic Party (Korean: 통일민주당). That same year, he was elected as a member of the National Assembly, representing Dong-gu, Busan. He came to wider public attention with his cross-examination of the government over political corruption allegations in a parliamentary hearing.

Roh was baptized as a Catholic (baptismal name: Justin) in 1986 but then lapsed while continuing to identify as a Catholic, though later years he was non-religious while practicing a form of Mahayana Buddhism.

In 1985 he started to participate in civic movements by assuming permanent power of attorney on behalf of the Busan council of citizen democracy. He opposed the autocratic regime in place at the time in South Korea, and participated in the pro-democracy June Democracy Movement in 1987 against Chun Doo-hwan. The same year he was jailed while investigating the cause of death of the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering factory worker Lee Seok-Kyu, who had been killed by a stray police tear gas bullet while on strike. Roh was accused of 'unapproved interference in the case' and 'hindering the funeral'. Although he was released in twenty days because of public opinion against the arrest, his lawyer's license was revoked after the incident in political retribution. His lawyer's license was reinstated and he, along with Chun Jung Bae and Im Jong In, founded Haemaru Law firm.

In 1981, he defended students who had been tortured for suspicion of possession of contraband literature. Following this he decided to become a human rights lawyer. In early 2003, he was quoted as saying, "After that defense, my life was totally changed. At first, even I couldn't believe that they had been tortured that harshly. However, 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." With fellow human rights lawyers, he pointed out that this case was forged, then claimed that the National Security Act (South Korea) itself should be judged.

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). 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. Roh himself was the first South Korean president to be born after the end of Japanese rule in Korea.

Roh Moo-Hyun decided to become a lawyer due to the influence of his elder brother who had studied law but had died in a car accident. Roh studied on his own to pass the bar exam in 1975 (South Korea does not currently require bar examinees to have graduated from college, university, or law school). In 1977, he became a regional judge in Daejeon, but quit in 1978, and became a lawyer.

Roh Moo-hyun GOM (Korean: 노무현; Hanja: 盧武鉉; RR: No Muhyeon; 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 was born into a poor farming family on 1 September 1946, in Bongha Village near Gimhae and Pusan, in what is now southeastern South Korea. His ancestor was in Dongyang, Zhejiang. His parents had three boys and two girls, and Roh was the youngest of his family. In 1953, he entered Dae Chang Elementary School. He received high grades, but was quite often absent from school to assist his parents. While in sixth grade, with the encouragement of his school teacher, he became the president of the school. As he entered Jin-yeong middle school, a writing contest was held to commemorate Syngman Rhee's birthday. Roh tried to start a student movement against it, but was caught and suspended from the school.