The President of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, is impeached by its National Assembly: The first such impeachment in the nation's history.
Roh Moo-hyun GOM (Korean: ; Hanja: ; RR: No Muhyeon; Korean pronunciation: [no mun]; 1 September 1946 23 May 2009) was a South Korean lawyer-turned-politician who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008.
Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea. His electoral career later expanded to a focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his election to the presidency. He achieved a large following among younger internet users, which aided his success in the presidential election.Roh's election was notable for the arrival in power of a new generation of Korean politicians, the so-called 386 Generation (people in their thirties, when the term was coined, who had attended university in the 1980s and who were born in the 1960s). This generation had been veterans of student protests against authoritarian rule and advocated a conciliatory approach towards North Korea, even at the expense of good relations with the United States. Roh himself was the first South Korean president to be born after the end of Japanese rule in Korea.
South Korea received the highest marks on the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index under his administration. The value of the South Korean won against the US dollar was the strongest during his administration since 1997. Due to the strong currency, for the first time in history, South Korea became the world's 10th largest economy and exceeded the $20,000 milestone in nominal GDP per capita during his administration.
Despite high expectations at the beginning of his presidency, Roh encountered strong opposition from both the opposition conservative Grand National Party and media, and he was frequently accused of incompetence. As a result, many of Roh's policies, such as a plan to move the capital of South Korea and a plan to form a coalition with the opposition, made little progress. Because of his poor performance in economy and diplomacy, Roh was not a popular president, having the worst approval rating on average ever recorded in South Korean political history. His economic policy was often criticized for persisting with certain obsolete economic views and failing certain livelihood issues.After leaving office, Roh returned to his hometown of Bongha Maeul. He ran a duck farm and lived an ordinary life, sharing it through his blog. He also ran a website called "Democracy 2.0" to promote healthy online discussions. Fourteen months later, Roh was suspected of bribery by prosecutors, and the subsequent investigations attracted public attention. Roh died by suicide on 23 May 2009 when he jumped from a mountain cliff behind his home, after saying that "there are too many people suffering because of me" on a suicide note on his computer. About 4 million people visited Roh's hometown Bongha Village in the week following his death. His suicide was confirmed by police. Public opinion on Roh has improved considerably since his death, which take into account his humans rights background and national economic progress during his presidency. In a 2019 Gallup Korea poll, Roh was cited as the most popular president in South Korean history amongst the general public.
The president of the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국 대통령; Hanja: 大韓民國 大統領; RR: Daehanmin-guk daetongnyeong), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; Korean: 대통령), is the leader of the State Council of the Republic of Korea. The president is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea and is the chief administrative authority of the executive branch of the national government as well as the Commander in Chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.
The Constitution and the amended Presidential Election Act of 1987 provide for election of the president by direct, secret ballot, ending sixteen years of indirect presidential elections under the preceding two governments. The president is directly elected to a five-year term, with no possibility of re-election. If a presidential vacancy should occur, a successor must be elected within sixty days, during which time presidential duties are to be performed by the South Korean prime minister or other senior cabinet members in the order of priority as determined by law. While in office, the chief executive lives in Cheongwadae (the "Blue House"), and is exempt from criminal liability (except for insurrection or treason).
Moon Jae-in, former human rights lawyer and chief of staff to then-President Roh Moo-hyun, assumed post of president of South Korea on 10 May 2017 immediately upon being elected with a plurality of 41.1%, in contrast to 24.0% and 21.4% won by his major opponents, conservative Hong Joon-pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, respectively, constitutionally replacing Park Geun-hye following her removal from the office.People Power Party's Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to assume office on May 10, 2022, after he defeated Democratic Party's nominee Lee Jae-myung in the 2022 South Korean presidential election.