Early Childhood and Young AdulthoodRoh Moo-hyun, the 16th president of the Republic of Korea, was born on August 6, 1946, in a small farming village in Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do, a province on the southeast
coast. His father was Roh Pan-seok, a poor farmer, and his mother, Lee Sun-rye.
He has an elder brother and two elder sisters. Mr. Roh lived in this village
until he graduated from Jinyeong Middle School.
Despite the fact that his family was poor, he always had a positive outlook.
His family helped him to appreciate the traditional values of honesty, hard
work, and self-reliance.
An episode from his elementary school years shows his strong personality. He
felt he was the rightful first place winner in the school's calligraphy contest.
However, the first place was awarded to another student whose family was well-to-do.
At the awarding ceremony, Roh refused to take the second place from his teacher
because he thought he had been treated unfairly. His sense of fairness, taking
shape in his formative years, would play an important role in adult life.
After graduating from Jinyeong Middle School, Roh was accepted at Busan Commercial
High School with a full scholarship. Upon graduation in 1966, he worked at a
small company for a short while but was disappointed with the working conditions.
He made a decision later to study for the national bar examination to become
a lawyer as a means of securing a comfortable life
In 1968, he began his military duty at Eulji Military Base, one of the front-line
bases, and completed his duty in May 1971 as a corporal. In January 1973, he
married his village sweetheart, Kwon Yang-sook.
Successfully Passing the National Bar Examination
Roh had harbored a dream of studying for the national bar examination since
he was a child. Passing the bar examination was considered to be the top achievement
in Korea ensuring a life of wealth, honor, and influence in the society. Since
high school graduates were not eligible to take this examination at the time,
he returned home and embarked on realizing this dream by preparing for a qualification
examination to take the bar examination; he passed this exam in October 1966.
After completing his military duty, he continued to study and successfully passed
the national bar examination in 1975. Upon completion of the mandatory, two-year
training program at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he became
a district court judge for the city of Daejeon in 1977 and served in that position
for eight months. He resigned from that position when he discovered that judges
were not able to maintain judicial independence under the authoritarian military-influenced
Administration. In 1978, he resigned his judgeship and opened his own law office.
"Burim Incident" and Becoming a Human Rights Lawyer
The Chun Doo-hwan Administration, which came to power following the brutal suppression
of the May 1980 Gwangju Pro-Democracy Uprising, instituted a systematic program
of eliminating pro-democracy and anti-government elements among university students.
For example, university students on different campuses in the Seoul area were
arrested on trumped-up charges of anti-state activities. One such case involving
trumped-up charges against students in Busan was simply called the "Burim Incident,"
after the name of a student book club. The students were charged with studying
leftist theories. Mr. Roh came to defend a student involved in the case by chance,
stepping in for another lawyer who was in trouble with the government authorities
because of his "ideological orientation." Roh was recommended, because it was
thought that the government could not find any ideological fault with him. But
the experience was an eye-opener, and it changed his life. He witnessed torture
and met mothers whose sons had disappeared. From then on, he quickly became
a human rights lawyer defending pro-democracy and labor rights activists throughout
the period of the infamous Fifth Republic, 1980-1988.
Pro-Democracy Movement and the "June Struggle"
In 1984, Roh became the director of the Research Center for Environmental Pollution,
and in 1985, he organized the Busan Citizens' Committee for Democracy with Father
Song Gi-in. At about the same time, Roh opened the Legal Counseling Office for
Labor. By 1986, his work as a lawyer practically ceased and instead he focused
most of his activities on the pro-democracy movement. He became one of the leaders
of the "June Struggle," demonstrations in the spring of 1987, which called for
a Constitutional revision to allow for direct presidential elections. They culminated
in June with the Government giving in to opposition demands. In September of
the same year, Roh was arrested in connection with the funeral of Lee Seok-gyu.
Lee, a member of the Daewoo Shipping Workers Union, was killed during a union
strike, when he was hit by a tear-gas canister released by the police. Roh and
other well-known leaders of the pro-democracy movement were called to support
the workers, and Mr. Roh represented the Union in the wage and compensation
settlement negotiations with the company. He was arrested on charges of "third-party
intervention" and "interruption of the funeral" but was released after 23 days
because of insufficient grounds for detention.
The "Star Lawmaker"
In 1988, the Tongilminjudang (Reunification Democratic Party), an opposition
party headed by Kim Young-sam, nominated Roh to run for the National Assembly
from the Eastern District of Busan. Defeating a strong ruling party candidate,
Roh was elected to the 13th National Assembly. As a new National Assemblyman,
he played an active role as a member of the Labor Committee, becoming known
as one of the 'Three Musketeers of the Labor Committee' with Lee Hae-chan and
Lee Sang-soo. During the special parliamentary hearing on the corruption charges
against the top government officials of the Fifth Republic, Roh, then a novice
lawmaker, instantly became a national hero with his well-organized and penetrating
questions. While few if any assemblymen dared to provoke such prominent figures
as Chung Ju-yung, the founder of the Hyundai conglomerate, and Chang Se-dong,
the intelligence chief under former President Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Moo-hyun stood
out both in his demeanor and in his forthright eloquence. The hearing laid the
basis for Roh to become a politician on a national scale; he is still remembered
by many Koreans as the "star lawmaker" from this period.
Opposing the 1990 Three-Party Merger
In January 1990, Roh opposed the politically motivated three-party merger between
the ruling and two opposition parties. Through this merger Kim Young-sam, a
long-time symbol of anti-dictatorship and pro-democracy movement in Korea, and
Kim Jong-pil, a symbol of the dictatorial Yusin Constitution, became partners
in a coalition government with the ruling party headed by Roh Tae-woo, a former
general and successor to Chun Doo-hwan of the Fifth Republic. The ruling party
needed the merger to secure a majority in the National Assembly. Roh Moo-hyun
opposed the merger citing it as an act of betrayal against the interests of
the public which desperately wanted a new, democratic regime. Roh went his separate
way, forming a "mini-Democratic Party" with National Assemblyman Kim Jung-gil,
the only other assemblyman left from their previous party. He then proceeded
with his idea of uniting the opposition forces, including the Sinmindang (New
Democratic Party) headed by Kim Dae-jung. In September 1991, the two parties
were merged to form the Tonghapminjudang (United Democratic Party), and Roh
became its first spokesperson.
The 1992 General Elections in Busan: Roh Embarks on a Historic Challenge
In March 1992, Roh ran again for the National Assembly seat for the Eastern
District of Busan. He ran on the ticket of the newly formed United Democratic
Party (UDP) headed by Kim Dae-jung. In other words, Roh ran in the heart of
the southeast on the ticket of a party that drew most its support from the southwest,
hoping to triumph over the deepening rivalries between the two regions. Unfortunately,
he could not overcome the regional antagonism fueled by his opponent and this
time he was defeated by the same candidate of the ruling coalition party that
he had defeated previously.
Roh went on to serve as an election campaign leader for presidential candidate
Kim Dae-jung in late 1992, and in March of the following year, he became the
youngest member of the UDP supreme council.
Establishment of the Research Center for Local Autonomy
In 1993, Roh established the Research Center for Local Autonomy to promote local
autonomy as a means to promote democracy in Korea. The Center is credited with
having produced key players for local governments since the system was introduced
in Korea. Today, the center has a new name, the Institute of Local Government
Management.
The 1995 Mayoral Race in Busan
On June 27, 1995, Roh ran in the first local election for Mayor of Busan, but
he was defeated by Mun Jeong-soo of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party. Opinion
polls taken prior to the election had indicated that Roh would have had a chance
of winning the gubernatorial race in Gyeonggi Province. He was also invited
to be a running mate of a leading candidate in the mayoral race in Seoul. However,
he chose to run for mayor of Busan because he wanted to break the corrosive
regional politics that divided the nation between the rival southwestern and
southeastern regions. Twice in a row, Roh ran for office in Busan in the southeast
as the candidate of the UDP that had its power base in the southwest. It was
a political risk no politician had ever attempted to take before or since, except
by Mr. Roh himself again in 2000. Eradicating the deeply-rooted regionalism
in Korean politics has since become one of the major goals in his political
life.
UDP & NCNP
When the National Congress for New Politics (NCNP) was inaugurated in 1995,
Roh stayed in the UDP. In 1996, during the 15th General Elections, he was the
UDP candidate for the National Assembly seat from the Jongno District in Seoul
but lost. After his defeat, he joined the Congress for the Promotion of National
Alliance (CPNA). In 1997, the CPNA leadership became divided in the face of
the upcoming presidential election. In November, Roh decided to join the NCNP
with Kim Won-gi and Kim Jung-gil, to coalesce support for Kim Dae-jung in the
presidential race.
As part of the presidential election campaign, Roh appeared on TV programs to
deliver speeches in support of candidate Kim Dae-jung, receiving the highest
TV viewing ratings.
Winning the Jongno District By-Election
In July 1998, a parliamentary by-election was held in the Jongno District in
Seoul. Roh ran for the seat on the NCNP ticket and won. This time, he served
on the Education Committee. During this time, Roh also acquired valuable experience
as an arbitrator in a number of labor-management disputes. For example, he played
a significant role in resolving the large-scale labor strike led by Hyundai
Heavy Industries Workers Union in August 1998. In 1999, he also played a major
role in persuading lawmakers, the labor union and civic organizations to form
a consensus on selling Samsung Motors to Renault.
The April 2000 General Elections and the Birth of NOSAMO
Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party (GNP) began to mobilize rallies in
the southeastern region in early 1999 resorting to divisive regional politics
as a preview to the forthcoming General Elections. Roh could have ignored this
and won the National Assembly seat for a second term by running in the Jongno
District in Seoul. Instead, he chose to challenge the GNP politics of regionalism
and returned to Busan as a candidate for the party from the southwest. He lost
the election in Busan, for the third time, but won the hearts of many people
around the country as he stood for principles and integrity.
Roh's defeat in the April 2000 election in Busan was a "blessing in disguise."
The news of his defeat prompted his supporters nationwide to form NOSAMO (The
"We Love Roh Moo-hyun Club"), the first political fan club in Korea. His supporters
were inspired by the courage and commitment shown in his struggle against regionalism.
Becoming the Minister of Maritime Affairs and FisheriesIn August 2000, Roh was appointed Minster of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
Serving as Minister, he gained extensive experience in policy-making and government
affairs. During his tenure, Roh also gained a reputation for his distinctly
democratic leadership style and his fresh and dynamic attitude.
Presidential Candidate of MDP
For the 2002 presidential elections, the MDP introduced a national primary election
system for the first time in Korea. The MDP primaries began on March 9, 2002
on Jeju Island. At the beginning, there were seven persons running and Roh was
by no means the frontrunner. Only one of some 120 MDP Members of the National
Assembly at the time openly supported Roh as the primary candidate. On April
27th, the day of the last primary election, in Seoul, Roh was officially confirmed
as the MDP Presidential candidate. To vote in the primary elections, 70,000
persons had been selected from more than 2 million party and non-party applicants.
Few had expected Roh's nomination as the presidential candidate. His victory
was a victory not only for the candidate himself or his party but also for the
national primary election system. Following his nomination, he also received
about 65 percent support in opinion polls, far ahead of the leading opposition
party candidate, Lee Hoi-chang.
Emerging Victorious in the Presidential Election
As a series of corruption scandals involving President Kim Dae-jung's sons,
relatives and his appointed officials outraged the public in the months following
the primaries, Roh's popularity dipped to a low point. His presidential candidacy
appeared to be collapsing rapidly. Some members of the MDP withdrew their party
membership and joined Lee Hoi-chang's party or the National Alliance 21, which
had been newly formed by Mr. Chung Mong-joon and his supporters for his presidential
bid. Other MDP defectors formed an ad hoc committee to press Roh to yield his
candidacy in favor of Chung, whose popularity as a prospective presidential
candidate had skyrocketed. His rise in the polls was attributable to a number
of factors, one of which was his role as a co-chair of the World Cup Organizing
Committee, which managed the highly successful world soccer competition.
Time and again, Roh had to make a difficult political decision; to listen to
his closest supporters and hold on to his MDP presidential candidacy or to compete
against Chung for a unified candidacy. There seemed to be only a slim chance
for his victory in this new round of competition if the polls were any indication
of the outcome.
After much soul-searching, Roh decided to abide by the voters' demands for a
single presidential candidacy against Lee Hoi-chang. His aides and their counterparts
worked out a selection process under which Roh and Chung would engage in a televised
debate, to be followed by opinion polls, the result of which would determine
the single candidate.
At midnight on November 25, 2002, Roh's victory was announced to the nation.
Chung Mong-joon conceded with grace and pledged to do his best to help elect
Roh as the next president of Korea. Thus, a new chapter in the history of Korean
politics was written. Two prospective presidential candidates had accepted the
demand of the people to unify for a single candidate and abide by the results
of the selection process in a spirit of fairness.
Finally, Roh Moo-hyun, a person with a humble family origin, struggling all
his life to uphold the rights of individuals, emerged as a presidential candidate
overcoming all sorts of political predicaments. Truly, his candidacy represents
a victory for the common people in every region of the nation and in all walks
of life that he had long aspired to serve as president.
In a hard-fought battle culminating in the Presidential election on December
19, 2002, Roh won a narrow but convincing victory, despite Chung's last minute
defection. In a statement to the domestic and foreign press after the election,
he said:
This presidential election was a historic event in which we demonstrated, once
again, our great capacity as a nation.
For the first time in our history, we have elected a president who has conducted
a campaign without money politics in the cleanest election in this country.
For the first time in history, hundreds of thousands of voters donated funds
and worked as volunteers to select their nation's president.
For the first time in history, our people selected a new president based mostly
on the candidate's policies and visions.
And for the first time in history, our people selected a president who called
for a new kind of national unity and political reform. The political reform
for which we have so long aspired has already begun. A new politics about which
we can boast to the world is beginning to take place before our own eyes.
We dreamt of this change. And we made it.