Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo (
노태우;
盧泰愚) (born
December 4,
1942 in
Daegu,
South Korea), a Korean general and politician. He was the sixth
president of
South Korea (
1988-
1993). Roh was hand-picked by the ex-general Chun Doo-hwan to succeed him as president, triggering large pro-democracy rallies in
Seoul and other cities in 1987. In response, Roh agreed to hold democratic presidential elections. Opposition supporters split their vote between two candidates--future presidents
Kim Young-sam and
Kim Dae-jung--enabling Roh to become the first democratically elected president after the end of military rule.