Roh Tae-woo (1932–2021)
Born 1932 CE, died 2021 CE.
Roh Tae-woo (Korean: 노태우, pronounced [no.tʰɛ.u]; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. In 1987, he became the first president to be directly elected under the current democratic constitution, which was promulgated after a lengthy period of indirect elections under military governments following the advent of the Yushin Constitution in 1972. Born in Daegu, Roh attended the Korea Military Academy alongside his close friend Chun Doo-hwan. Rising steadily through the ranks, he saw action in the Vietnam War, and by 1979 he was a major general and commanded the White Horse Division. In that capacity, Roh played a key role in the December 1979 military coup that brought Chun to power, and supported Chun's violent crackdown of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. Retiring from the army a year later, he held a series of ministerial posts in Chun's government. In June 1987, Chun handpicked Roh as the candidate of the ruling Democratic Justice Party in the upcoming presidential election, which effectively handed Roh the presidency.
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