Roh Tae-woo

Roh Tae-woo (; ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. He was the first democratically elected president of South Korea. Roh was a close ally and friend of Chun Doo-hwan, the predecessor leader of the country who ruled as an unelected military dictator from 1980 to 1988, and unofficially since 1979. In 1996, both leaders were sentenced for their roles in orchestrating coups as well as their subsequent human rights abuses such as the Gwangju Massacre, but were pardoned the following year by Kim Young-sam on advice of president-elect Kim Dae-jung. He was a leader of the Democratic Justice Party from 1987 to 1990 and was known for having passed the June 29 Declaration in 1987 as the leader of the party. Roh died on 26 October 2021, at the age of 88. Early life and education Roh was born on 4 December 1932 in Daegu. He is the 16th generation descendant of Noh Sa-sin who was a civil minister and scholar during early Joseon period. Noh Sa-sin is 6th generation descendant of the late Goryeo period bureaucrat Noh Jin. 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 Daegu Technical School but transferred to the local Kyongbuk High School where he was an above-average student. Roh befriended Chun Doo-hwan while in high school in Daegu.