biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1927– )
|
| biography:
| South Korean politician and president (1993–8), born in Pusan, SE Korea. He studied at Seoul National University, and was elected to the National Assembly in 1954. A founder member of the Opposition New Democratic Party, he became its president in 1974. His opposition to the Park Chung-Hee regime (1963–79) resulted in his being banned from all political activity (1980). He staged a 23-day pro-democracy hunger strike (1983), and his political ban was formally lifted (1985). He helped form the New Korea Democratic Party (1985) and the centrist Reunification Democratic Party (RDP, 1987). In his 1987 bid for the presidency he came second, behind the governing party's candidate, Roh Tae-Woo. He merged the RDP with the ruling party to form the new Democratic Liberal Party (1990), and was elected president in 1993. |
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