No Tae-Wu

No Tae-Wu (often seen as Roh Tae-Woo depending on the transliteration) was President of the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee from 1983-86 and was President of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee in 1984-85. No joined the South Korean Army in 1950 during the Korean War, and had a long military career, retiring in July 1981. In the military he held several key army posts such as Commander of the Capital Security Command in 1979 and Commander of the Defense Security Command in 1980.

No was then named Minister of State for National Security and Foreign Affairs. He later served as Sports Minister and Home Affairs Minister. In 1987 he was named the Presidential candidate for the Democratic Justice Party. No was elected and inaugurated as President on 25 February 1988. During his Presidency, Seoul hosted the 1988 Olympic Games. He also oversaw the merger of the Democratic Justice Party with Reunification and Democracy Party and New Democratic Republican Party.

No was also known for his Nordpolitik foreign policy, short for Northern Diplomacy, which established diplomatic ties with several Eastern European nations and Mongolia in 1989-90 and established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in August 1992.

After his Presidency ended in 1993, his successor, Kim Young-Sam, began an anti-corruption campaign that investigated political donations No had received as President. No went to trial for this and was convicted in August 1996 for treason, mutiny, and corruption. He was sentenced to 22½ years in jail, which was reduced to 17 years on appeal. No was eventually released from prison in December 1997 and was then pardoned by Kim Young-Sam.

The last years of No’s life were difficult. He developed a degenerative brain disorder and spent the last 10 years bedridden and was supposedly unable to speak or move and was fully dependent on full-time care. After his death, despite his controversial legacy, the Korean government elected to hold a state funeral in his honor, in recognition of his work promoting inter-Korean relations.