George H. W. Bush in 1991
Kiichi Miyazawa in 1992 Roh was inaugurated as president on 25 February 1988. For the first time, the ceremony was held outside the
National Assembly Building. Subsequent presidents have been inaugurated at the same location. In his inauguration speech, Roh pledged to open an era of democracy, bringing into full play the people's potential. Roh's rule was notable for hosting the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and for his foreign policy of
Nordpolitik, which represented a major break from previous administrations. True to his word, he remained committed to democratic reforms and was steadfast in the push toward political and socio-economic reforms at home. Democratization of politics, economic "growth with equity," and national reunification were the three policy goals publicly stated by the Roh administration. However, in 1992, Roh's government sealed up a cave on
Mount Halla where the remains of the
Jeju uprising massacre victims had been discovered, continuing a series of coverups by successive administrations on the truth of the uprising.
Merging of political parties in 1990 In order to overcome the paralysis of governing due to lack of majority support in the National Assembly, the Roh government sought to attain "a grand compromise" in partisan politics. A party merger was announced on 22 January 1990 in an attempt to accomplish this political objective. The ruling Democratic Justice Party merged with two opposition parties, Kim Young-sam's Reunification and Democracy Party and
Kim Jong-pil's New Democratic Republican Party. The new established
Democratic Liberal Party, which commanded a more than two-thirds majority in the legislature, sought to establish political stability so as to enable socio-economic progress. However, the merger was fraught with factional infighting, undermining his administration's handling of national affairs.
Foreign policy He met with President
Corazon Aquino for a series of talks between the
Philippines and South Korea for economic, social, and cultural ties, supporting the Filipino boxer
Leopoldo Serantes in the Olympics, and to discuss
unification talks to end North Korea's hostility after the Korean War. During his administration, Roh's stance as President was very active in diplomacy. Successfully hosting the 24th Summer Olympics in Seoul in his first year in office was a major accomplishment, followed by his active diplomacy, including his address before the
United Nations General Assembly in October 1988, his meeting with U.S. President
George H. W. Bush, and delivering a speech before a joint session of the U.S. Congress. He also conducted a five-nation European visit in December 1989. On 7 July 1988, he launched an aggressive foreign policy initiative called the Northern Diplomacy, or Nordpolitik, which brought about benefits and rewards to his government. In 1989, Seoul established diplomatic relations with
Hungary and
Poland, followed by diplomatic ties with
Yugoslavia,
Romania,
Czechoslovakia,
Bulgaria, and
Mongolia in 1990. South Korea's trade with the People's Republic of China steadily increased, reaching the $3.1 billion mark at the same time South Korea's trade with the Eastern Bloc nations and the
Soviet Union increased to $800 million. Seoul and Moscow exchanged full consular general's offices in 1990. Roh's moves left North Korea more isolated and was a dramatic and historic turning point of South Korea's diplomatic goals. On 4 June 1990, Roh met with
Mikhail Gorbachev,
President of the Soviet Union, during a visit to the United States. The meeting ended 42 years of official silence between the two countries and paved the way for improved diplomatic relations. Roh later visited the Soviet Union in 1991.
North Korean relations The Nordpolitik policy also proposed the interim development of a "Korean Community", which was similar to a North Korean proposal for a confederation. From 4 to 7 September 1990, high-level talks were held in Seoul, at the same time that the North was protesting about the Soviet Union normalizing relations with the South. In December 1991 both states made an accord, the Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-Aggression, Exchange and Cooperation, pledging non-aggression and cultural and economic exchanges. They also agreed on prior notification of major military movements and established a military
hotline, and working on replacing the
Korean Armistice Agreement with a "peace regime". The agreement was praised for forming a foundation for cross-border exchanges and cooperation. In January 1992, North and South Korea also signed the
Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, although the North subsequently reneged and pursued its own nuclear weapons program. This coincided with the admission of both North and South Korea into the United Nations. Meanwhile, on 25 March 1991, a unified Korean team, for the first time, used the
Korean Unification Flag at the World Table Tennis Competition in Japan, and on 6 May 1991, a unified team competed at the World Youth Football Competition in
Portugal.
Economy and infrastructure Roh's emphasis on "economic growth with equity," although well received by the public, led to the dwindling in the annual economic growth rate from the high of 12.3 percent in 1988 to 6.7 percent in 1989. As labor strikes and demands for higher wages intensified, the Roh government imposed an austerity plan to keep South Korea's export-oriented economy more competitive internationally. However, pursuit of higher wages in the wake of the strikes and the appreciation of the
South Korean won in value against the U.S. dollar made South Korean products less competitive internationally. His policies cancelled debt in rural areas, constructed two million new houses, and established public land ownership for the public interest. In addition, under his administration, large-scale national projects such as
Incheon International Airport opened in 2001 and the
Korea Train Express (KTX) high speed rail system opened in 2004. Both of these began construction under his administration in 1992.{{cite news |date= 26 October 2021|title= Former President Roh, a key man in military coup and witness to democratization ==Post-presidency (1993–2021)==