After serving as a rather obscure military leader for many years, Roh Tae Woo (born 1932) became active in the South Korean government following the coup by Chun Doo Hwan. It was his part in this coup which landed him with a 17-year prison sentence. In 1987 Roh was elected as the 13th president of the Republic of Korea.

Roh Tae Woo, as president of South Korea's Sixth Republic, wished to be remembered as "an ordinary man" in the era of "the common people." Although constitutionally elected as the 13th president of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on December 16, 1987, he received only 36.6 percent of the total popular votes. His ruling Democratic Justice Party also failed to capture the majority votes in the April 1988 National Assembly election, winning only 125 seats in the 299-member legislative body. As a result, President Roh's effectiveness as political leader was handicapped in the subsequent years.

Roh...