Goodbye Roh
By Kim Ji-soo
Staff Reporter
The late former President Roh Moo-hyun defied the odds many times, both in his personal and political life. Born in a poor farming town in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, he taught himself law.
He made his name as a human rights lawyer and later as a candid politician who stood for democratic ideas. Roh, as a politician, knew both victory and defeat.
But voters remembered him as a rare type of Korean politician ― humble, willing to do away with authority and to take chances with principles. Bold policies and words marked his presidency ― a trait his supporters embraced but critics decried as too confrontational.
But he was undeniably one of the most dynamic presidents, one who was willing and able to change the rules. He was a political leader whose absence will be missed and remembered.
