[5] Born in Daegu, Roh attended the Korea Military Academy alongside his close friend Chun Doo-hwan.

Rising steadily through the ranks, he saw action in the Vietnam War, and by 1979 he was a major general and commanded the White Horse Division.

In response, Roh worked to distance himself from the Chun government and delivered the June 29 Declaration, promising a broad program of democratic reforms including the direct election of the president.

In foreign affairs, Roh pursued the policy of Nordpolitik and established diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union and China.

[9] His ancestry could be traced from Jinan, capital of Shandong, China[10] and is the 16th generation descendant of Noh Sa-sin [ko] who was a civil minister and scholar during early Joseon period.

A member of the Hanahoe, a secret military group, he gave critical support to a Coup d'état of December Twelfth 1979 in which Chun became the de facto ruler of South Korea.

[11] Following his retirement from the Army in July 1981, Roh accepted Chun's offer of the post of Minister of State for National Security and Foreign Affairs.

Despite his involvement in the coup d'état of December 12 and the bloody military crackdown of dissidents in the Gwangju Uprising and with an eye on the Blue House in the upcoming 1987 presidential elections, Roh began working to distance himself from the unpopular Chun government.

This was widely perceived as handing Roh the presidency, and triggered large pro-democracy rallies in Seoul and other cities in the 1987 June Democracy Movement.

[13] 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.

Democratization of politics, economic "growth with equity," and national reunification were the three policy goals publicly stated by the Roh administration.

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.

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.

[16] 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.

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.

[21] Barred from running for a second term in 1992 (the 1987 constitution retained the previous ban on reelection), Roh left office on 24 February 1993.

In October 1995, Roh, in a tearful televised speech, publicly apologized for having illegally amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in secret political donations during his term as president.

[24] In contrast, his friend and predecessor, Chun Doo-hwan stopped repaying his remaining fine and did not show regret or remorse for his past actions.

On 12 August 2014, while confinement at the Seoul National University Hospital, Roh was visited by his predecessor and friend Chun Doo-hwan.

I hope that the peaceful reunification of North and South Korea that was not achieved in my lifetime will be achieved by the next generation.In view of Roh's mixed and disputed legacy, the government decided to hold a state funeral for Roh following a debate within the national cabinet, in recognition of his "significant contributions to the nation's development".

[28][29] The decision was criticized by some, including survivors and victims' families of the Gwangju massacre and members of the ruling liberal Democratic Party.

On 9 December 2021, two months after his death, Roh's ashes were interred at Paju, a border town to North Korea, on Unification Hill [ko].