Four representative moments in the ups and downs of "ordinary man" Lu Taiyu

  On October 26, former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo passed away in the intensive care unit of Seoul National University Hospital.

According to South Korean media reports, Lu Tae-woo's health has been poor for many years.

In 2002, he underwent surgery for prostate cancer. After that, he received acupuncture treatment almost every day, but his body was still deteriorating.

  Lu Taiyu's life was full of contradictions and controversies.

He was an important member of the Korean military government and participated in military coups and suppression of democratic movements.

He was also the first democratically elected president of South Korea in the true sense, and promoted the peaceful transformation of South Korean politics from dictatorship to democracy.

Although he is the most inexistent president in South Korea's history, his political achievements, especially diplomatic achievements, are beyond the reach of future generations.

  Lu Tae-woo considers himself an "ordinary Korean", but there are 4 "representative moments" in his low-key and prudent 88 years of life.

First moment: speech

  In December 1932, Lu Tae-woo was born in a village official's family in Daegu Metropolitan City, South Korea.

When he was 7 years old, his father was killed in a car accident.

In such a living environment, Lu Taiyu has shown a mature and stable attitude that is not commensurate with his age since he was a child.

This style of life formed during his growth period also marked Lu Taiyu's presidential career.

  Unlike those former military government presidents who have a cold face and tough style, Lu Taiyu always smiles, and has no pretensions in dealing with people.

For most of his administration, he left the protesters unchecked and often swayed between the opinions of various factions.

In the highly anticipated position of the president, he appeared cautious and indecisive, and was ridiculed as "Water Taewoo" and "President Water".

However, he did not get angry because of this, but laughed at these "nicknames."

"Water is tolerant and terrifying. People who are like water are the ideal candidates for leaders." Lu Taiyu once said in an interview with Dongya Daily.

  In fact, Lu Taiyu spent a long time in the interweaving of fire and blood in his life.

After the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-1953), Roh Tae-woo joined the student army, and then met the person who had the greatest influence on his life at the Army Non-commissioned Officer-Chun Doo-hwan, and the two forged a deep friendship.

After graduating from the military academy in 1955, Lu Taiyu officially began his military career. Since then, he has repeatedly made military exploits and has risen to the top in his official career.

  In October 1979, then President Park Chung-hee was assassinated by the Central Intelligence Minister Kim Jae-gyu.

On December 12 of the same year, the then security commander Chun Doo-hwan launched a military coup and established the "Fifth Republic" and became the 11th president of South Korea.

Lu Tae-woo, with a heavy hand in hand, stood on the side of Quan Doo-hwan and became a firm ally of Quan Doo-hwan.

  However, the South Korean people did not buy into the regime change that took place due to the mutiny, and the wave of non-governmental protest movements rose from wave to wave.

On May 18, 1980, the "Gwangju Massacre" that shocked the world broke out, killing and wounding thousands of people.

  It is worth mentioning that the United States, which is accustomed to interfering in the internal affairs of other countries under the banner of "democracy" and "human rights," stood on the opposite side of the people in the democratic movement in South Korea.

Soon after the Gwangju incident, the U.S. government blatantly supported Chun Doo-hwan on the grounds that it "cannot sit back and watch South Korea fall into chaos."

With the connivance of the United States, the military government suppressed the democratic movement, and a large number of dissidents were thrown into prison or secretly eliminated.

  As early as 1981, Seoul, the capital of South Korea (Seoul), had won the right to host the 1988 Olympic Games.

However, the situation in South Korea continued to be turbulent under Chun Doo-hwan's rule, which aroused the concerns of the International Olympic Committee.

The Olympic Committee began to consider handing over the hosting rights of the 1988 Olympic Games to other countries or postponing the hosting.

After hearing this news, Lu Taiyu, who was in charge of preparing for the Olympics, went to Switzerland in 1984 and delivered a turn-around speech in front of the then President of the Olympic Committee Samaranch——

  "In order to enhance exchanges between the East and the West, to ease tensions, for world peace, and to prove that the Olympics are not a monopoly of developed countries, the whole world supports South Korea for hosting the Olympics. Korean people are also excited about this and are making all-out preparations. If you insist on changing the venue, the 40 million people of the Republic of Korea will not tolerate it. We will always remember who ruined our economy and dreams!"

  These words shocked the audience and also touched Samaranch.

Samaranch said that he would not disappoint the expectations of South Korean citizens, but he hopes that the South Korean government will stabilize the situation as soon as possible to ensure the smooth holding of the Olympic Games.

The second moment: the declaration

  One year before the opening of the Seoul Olympics, the demand for democratization in South Korea was growing, and opponents of the military government had become a political force that could not be ignored.

Due to the situation, Quan Dou-hwan prepared to transfer power to Roh Tae-woo.

At this time, large-scale protests broke out in many places in South Korea, and tensions between the Korean people and the military government were on the verge of breaking out.

Facing the familiar historical scene, Lu Taiyu, who was only one step away from the presidency, did not choose to use force to defend his power, but made concessions.

  On the morning of June 29, 1987, Lu Taiyu walked into the conference room of the Central Party Department of the Democratic Justice Party, sat in front of the microphone on the rostrum, and took out a speech prepared overnight.

Behind him is a party flag; in front of him is the reporter's guns.

At this moment, there is no smile on his face.

  "Under this historic situation, I have deeply reflected on the true mission of politicians. Today, with a tragic heart, I stand in front of history and the people." Then, Lu Taiyu put forward eight points. Presidential elections will be implemented to protect everyone's citizenship.

  As soon as the "June 29 Declaration" was published, Lu Taiyu immediately changed his status and devoted himself to the campaign.

He distanced himself from Quan Douhuan, claiming that he was not a "successor" to the president, but a "candidate".

He appeared in front of the public frequently, and shouted to the people: "Great ordinary people, trust me!" Lu Taiyu resolutely killed the opponents who had not yet decided who to send to the fight by surprise.

In the end, Tae-woo Roh won the election by a narrow margin and became the first elected president of South Korea.

  However, Lu Tae-woo's party did not obtain a majority in the parliament.

The parliament requested that Chun Doo-hwan and the "Fifth Republic" commit crimes in the democratic movement be liquidated.

Under pressure, Roh Tae-woo had to hand over Chun Doo-hwan to the National Assembly shortly after he took office to make him publicly apologize for suppressing the Gwangju Movement, and then put him under house arrest in Baekdamsa Temple in Gangwon-do.

  In the fierce congressional confrontation, the leader of the United Democratic Party, Kim Young-sam, strongly advocated the liquidation of Chun Doo-hwan.

According to him, when the Blue House (South Korea’s Presidential Palace) held a meeting between leaders of the ruling and opposition parties, “Kim Dae-jung (the leader of the democratic movement) said that it should be adequate, but Kim Jong-mi (the niece of Park Jung-hee) said nothing. I thought Roh Tae-woo would oppose it to the end, but in the end he still said. I sent Quan Doo-hwan to Baekdam Temple. This is human nature."

  Quan Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo turn against each other.

In the rest of their lives since then, the two have only seen two sides, once in the court where Chun Dou-hwan and Lu Tae-woo were tried, and once in front of Lu Tae-woo’s bed.

The third moment: the establishment of diplomatic relations

  On September 17, 1988, the Olympic Games opened in Seoul, which was also called "Seoul" at the time.

Delegations from 159 countries and regions participated in the Olympic Games.

At the opening ceremony, the Jamsil Stadium, which can hold 100,000 people, was packed.

The audience all dressed in traditional hanbok, turning the stadium into a dazzling white ocean.

When Samaranch announced the opening of the Seoul Olympics in scrolling English, the smile on Lu Taiyu's face was as gentle as the blue sky over the stadium.

  The Seoul Olympics marked South Korea's transformation from a developing country to a newly industrialized country.

"The Seoul Olympics is a miracle." Said Park Sezhi, chairman of the Seoul Olympics Organizing Committee. "It allows the world to go to Seoul and Seoul to the world." The then Mayor of Seoul Gao Jian said that the Seoul Olympics enabled Seoul to "become an international university 20 years ahead of schedule." The ranks of the city".

  Taking the Seoul Olympics as an opportunity, South Korea not only achieved an economic take-off, but also expanded its international space.

In the late 1980s, drastic changes occurred in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Lu Taiyu pursues the "Northern Policy" and actively seeks diplomatic breakthroughs with countries in the socialist camp.

In 1989, South Korea established diplomatic relations with Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia; after entering the 1990s, South Korea established diplomatic relations with Bulgaria, Mongolia, Romania, and the Soviet Union.

  However, Lu Taiyu has one more important thing that has not yet been completed.

  Lu Taiyu is a descendant of the Lu family in Fanyang, Shandong, China. His family has been deeply influenced by Chinese culture for generations.

It is said that he has looked at China across the sea many times, hoping that one day he can go to the other side to worship his ancestors.

With the end of the presidency, the idea of ​​"establishing diplomatic relations with China" grew stronger in his mind.

  Qian Qichen, the then Chinese Foreign Minister, recalled in "Ten Notes on Diplomacy" that although Lu Taiyu was of military origin, he was relatively mild and had a rather firm attitude on the issue of establishing diplomatic relations with China.

Although South Korea maintained "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan at that time, people of insight had already considered that in the prospect of economic development and political changes in East Asia, establishing diplomatic relations with China would be more beneficial to South Korea.

Lu Taiyu has tried many ways to improve relations with China, but progress has not been much.

  According to the "Ten Notes on Diplomacy" by Qian Qichen, former minister of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in November 1991, the third ministerial meeting of the Asian Economic Cooperation Organization was held in Seoul. Qian Qichen and then Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Li Lanqing attended the meeting together.

"The appearance of the Chinese Foreign Minister in Seoul was an unprecedented event at the time. Since the end of World War II, there has been no official exchanges between China and South Korea, not to mention the fierce confrontation during the Korean War."

  Naturally, Lu Taiyu would not let go of this excellent opportunity.

After the group meeting, he invited Qian Qichen to get together.

After being seated, he first welcomed the Chinese delegation to Seoul, and then talked directly about the relationship between the two countries.

Lu Taiyu said that South Korea and China are separated by a sea and have a long history of exchanges, but in modern times, South Korea and China have been isolated from each other for decades, which is regrettable.

For the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the peaceful development of the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea sincerely hopes to establish diplomatic relations with China.

Qian Qichen noticed that Lu Taiyu had a smile and a gentle demeanor throughout the conversation.

  After several negotiations, on August 24, 1992, South Korea suspended diplomatic relations with the "Republic of China" and established ambassadorial diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

The international community expressed congratulations, but the Taiwan authorities were furious and accused South Korea of ​​"ingratitude" and evacuated the "Embassy" in Seoul overnight.

The fourth moment: tears

  In February 1993, Tae-woo Roh stepped down, and Kim Yong-sam established the first democratic government in Korea, the "Cenmin Government", which was governed by literati.

  Regarding the causes of social unrest in South Korea in the past, Kim Young-sam summed it up as "corruption, moral collapse, lawlessness, and disorder".

In order to cure the "Korean disease," he launched a large-scale anti-corruption campaign, implemented a real-name financial system, and required public officials to disclose their assets.

This movement took the lead in the high-level government departments, and hundreds of people including ministers, parliamentarians, military officers and others were implicated.

  The fire also burned on Lu Taiyu's head.

In October 1995, a congressman showed evidence that Lu Tae-woo used a pseudonymous account to deposit huge amounts of political donations, claiming that the money came from several different consortia, and there were still surpluses at that time.

After the news broke, the Koreans became angry.

They once again took to the streets to demonstrate, demanding that Lu Taiyu be brought to justice.

Under pressure from public opinion, Lu Tae-woo held a press conference and admitted that he had received 500 billion won in secret political funds during his tenure.

  "As a former president, I feel endless shame." On the TV screen, Lu Tai apologized to the public with tears and tears.

  In fact, receiving political funds is a secret tradition in Korean politics.

In any country that implements a system of direct elections, the presidential election is a money-burning game.

South Korea is very divided between the rich and the poor. If the candidates are not from a consortium, they will not be able to win the election with meager government funds. They can only find ways to obtain financial support from enterprises.

Bidding for large-scale projects and holding investment briefings are all forms of collecting political contributions in disguise. Sometimes politicians will directly ask companies for money.

  On August 26, 1996, the Seoul District Court sentenced Lu Taiyu to 22 years and 6 months in prison for military rebellion and bribery.

Later, Kim Young-san decided to pardon Noh Tae-woo, but still demanded to pay a fine.

  Roh Tae-woo became the first former president arrested in South Korean history.

Since then, the successive South Korean presidents seem to have been cursed, and almost no one has died after stepping down.

This also confirms that South Korea’s "collusion between politics and business" is really hard to eradicate.

Evaluation of Lu Taiyu, people and academics have different opinions

  On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of South Korea's recovery in 2015, Gallup conducted a poll on how to evaluate successive South Korean presidents.

Among the 8 former presidents, only 0.1% of the interviewees considered No Tae-woo to be the “best president in South Korea”; those who believed that Tae-woo Noh was “more meritorious than meritorious” was 5 times the number of people who thought he was “reliant than demerit”.

As for his fault, the South Korean people believe that the main reason is "collecting donations," "indecision", "initiating a military coup", "being the successor of Chun Doo Hwan," and so on.

  But in the Korean academic circles, there is another comment on Lu Tae-woo.

Seoul University professor Jiang Yuanze and other 13 Korean scholars pointed out in "Recognition in Roh Tae-woo Era: Korean Society in Transition" that Roh Tae-woo’s lowest score in the polls is unfair. The main reason is that he was a member of the military government. There has been a donation scandal.

In fact, Roh Tae-woo is an important figure in South Korea’s transition from a military regime to a democratic regime. His diplomatic achievements are beyond the reach of latecomers. His political achievements and leadership should be highly recognized.

  "Roh Tae-woo is a bridge between authoritarianism and democracy." Lee Jung-hee, an honorary professor of Korea University of Foreign Studies, believes that it is precisely because of Roh Tae-woo that South Korea can achieve power change without experiencing a bloody revolution.

Another scholar, Choi Soon-sil, believes that compared with leaders with strong personal touches such as Park Jung-hee and Kim Dae-jung, Lu Tae-woo appears to have no personality. “Korean people oppose dictatorship, but they like political strong men.”

  The doctrine of "no individuality" may be the "personal design" that Lu Taiyu has been working hard to manage all his life, and it is also the hope his grandfather placed on him when he named him-"big wisdom is foolish".

  When he participated in the presidential election that year, Lu Taiyu said to suspicious voters: "I am also an ordinary person like you." At the presidential inauguration, he proposed that the purpose of the "Sixth Republic" is to create "the greatness of ordinary people." era".

"Ordinary" runs through the beginning and end of Lu Taiyu's life-in the age of change, low-key is his protective color, and it is also his strategy of transforming from a military heir to a democratically elected representative.

Perhaps it is Lu Taiyu's best destination to leave the image of "ordinary people" in the minds of the public.

  Our newspaper, Beijing, October 27th

  China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Hu Wenli Source: China Youth Daily