History of Korea

In the midst of widespread protests against his authoritarian regime, President Chun had handpicked Roh Tae-woo, who served as a key man in his original military coup, as his successor in June of 1987. About three weeks later, Roh Tae-woo announced a declaration for democratic reforms after gaining the ruling party's nomination, and went on to win the presidency six months later by taking advantage of factionalism between the two rival politicians Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam. Widely blamed for corruption and irregularities during his rule, Chun went into "exile" at a remote monastery where he were to stay for over two years. President Roh's own regime was considered more democratic than the previous Republic's, but it was not without mixed evaluation. Over his five-year term, Roh is given credit for democratic reforms and improved relationship with the North Korea. Under Roh's rule, his "North Policy" established formal diplomatic relations with Moscow and Beijing, once Seoul's ideological enemies. Seoul also had opened full ties with 43 other countries during Roh's tenure increasing to 171 the number of countries with which it has diplomatic relations. However, critics point out his administration's economic policies which resulted in inconsistent economic measures and its negative impacts even though macroeconomic indicators had revealed growth.

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