Obituary to Former President Roh Moo-hyun

The 16th president of South Korea ended his own life today in the peaceful mountainside near his retirement home. He took with him the burden of a humiliating prosecution that stamped a man who fought his whole life for democracy and justice with a $6 million dollar corruption scandal. "You should now discard me," he wrote in a 14-line note, his last remaining message to the world. "I no longer stand for the values you pursue."

Former President Roh Moo-hyun, a human rights lawyer who was swept into office in 2002 on the wave of change and hope, was far from a conniving politician. He had a mind of his own, and frequently turned the floors upside down by challenging the traditional hierarchy of Korean politics. His opponents called him ignorant and reckless. His supporters, which continued to dwindle in size after fits of labor unrest, economic downturn and diplomatic friction, called him brave and revolutionary. Ultimately, he was a man with bigger dreams than his politics could handle.

Roh was born in the rural outskirts of Kimhae near Korea's second largest city of Busan a year after Korea was liberated from Japanese colonization. Even before becoming a politician, Roh knew the ins and outs of protesting against authority. In 1960, he led a student protest refusing to write a mandatory essay praising then president Syngman Rhee.

A self-made man who never attended university, Roh passed the bar in 1975 and practiced tax law until he personally saw the bruised and bloody bodies of tortured students. In a move that changed his life, he went from prosecuting tax offenders to defending students and labor activists from torture. In 1987, he participated directly in the pro-democracy movement that transformed the political nature of Korea. His fight against corruption, autocracy, and power was the example of the courage people wanted to see.

After being elected to a few insignificant regional political positions starting in 1988, Roh appeared from the shadows and won the December 2002 presidential elections by a narrow margin of 2%. His support base was a group of internet-savvy young people who called themselves Nosamo, or "Roh lovers group," and were hungry for political change.

As the underdog who knew seemed to know little about the complicated etiquette of politics, Roh came into office with ambitious plans of reforming everything from the tax system to the educational system to the location of the country's capital. As suspected, he pushed the wrong buttons on too many important people.

When change did not come as quickly as expected and the economy slumped from falling investment, Roh’s popularity also took a downward turn. His friendly policies toward North Korea were criticized as submissive appeasement and his decision to send troops to Iraq in contradiction to his distant attitude toward Washington flared up public controversy.

Then in March 2004, the opposition party impeached Roh on charges of unconstitutionally electioneering and governing incompetently. Though the constitutional court overturned the impeachment, Roh could not satisfy either his supporters or his critics with any of his subsequent policies. He ended his administration with several unfinished tasks, including the KORUS FTA and his unsuccessful housing reform plan.

But unlike other former presidents, Roh stayed in the public eye even after leaving office. He maintained a website and his quiet home in Bonghwa Village became a sort of tourist attraction for hundreds of curious bypassers a day. Despite the criticism regarding his policies, there were still many who revered the former president for upholding his values of progressivism, freedom of civil society, and welfare for the poor.

Then, in the midst of his transition to semi-normal life, Roh and his family members were accused of bribery involving $6 million dollars in payments from a businessman. After months of intense interrogation and public derailment, the former twinkle in the ex-president’s eyes turned into bloodshot fatigue.

“I apologize for disappointing the people,” he wrote, before taking his life.

In a society where a politician is expected to take moral responsibility for scandals involved with family members, Roh could not escape the guilt of tarnishing the sacred values he stood for. It did not matter that several other former presidents had also been involved in bribery scandals. He felt, with the most respect for Korean society, that he had not done his job as a civil servant. But his death leaves many with a disheartening question. If not him, who spoke out against corruption and power all his life, then who?

Roh Moo-hyun is survived by his wife, Kwon Yang-sook, his son, Roh Geon-ho, and his daughter, Roh Jeong-yon. May he rest in peace and the values he fought for be taken on by those left behind.