Roh Tae-woo, a former military politician who served as the 13th president of the Republic of Korea, died today (26th).
Mr. Noh had been hospitalized for a long time due to a chronic illness, and today his symptoms worsened and he was transferred to the emergency room, but he died.
Noh, who died at the age of 89, was admitted to Seoul National University Hospital earlier this year due to high fever and received intensive care by medical staff.
Mr. Noh, a former military veteran, was arrested and indicted on December 5, 1995 by a civilian government appraisal agency after a slush fund case broke out after the resignation of the president.
Noh, the protagonist of the 12.12 rebellion, was indicted along with Chun Doo-hwan after the prosecution's investigation into the 12.12 and 5.18 incidents.
Afterwards, with a special pardon from then-President Kim Young-sam, Roh and Jeon were released in December 1997, about eight months after the verdict was finalized, but the former president's courtesy was stripped.
Noh paid 262.8 billion won in fines in full 16 years after the amnesty was decided. His son-in-law Shin Myung-su, former chairman of Shindongbang Group, paid 8 billion won, and his younger brother Jae-woo paid 15 billion won.
Noh's son Jae-jae visited Gwangju several times on behalf of Noh and offered an apology, but in the end he died without apologizing for the 5.18 Democratization Movement.
Also, the wishes of the 5.18 organizations that requested cooperation in the investigation of the truth, such as revising Mr. Roh's memoir, who distorted the 5.18 democratization movement, and submitting related materials for finding the truth, did not come true.
(Photo = Yonhap News)