Roh was born on August 6, 1946 in Gimhae, near Busan, in southeastern South Korea, he studied on his own, and became regional judge at Daejeon in 1977.
Before entering politics, Roh was actively engaged in defending human rights in South Korea. He was elected to the national assembly in 1988 and served on the special committee investigating government corruption. Elected a second time in 1998, he subsequently served (2000–2001) as maritime affairs and fisheries minister under President Kim Dae Jung.Running as the Millenium Democratic Party candidate, he was elected president in 2002.
Roh pursued a policy of engagement toward the DPRK (North Korea), and in 2007 he traveled to Pyongyang, and met there with Kim Jong Il the leader of North Korea in a second historic summit between the leaders of North and South Korea. Roh Mu Hyun left office in 2008, he died under tragic circumstance on May 23 2009, he was laid to rest on May 29, thousands of South Koreans paid tribute to him.
