Russian Major Media: "No Tae-woo, the First South Korean President to Shake Hands with Soviet Leader"

▲Former President Roh Tae-woo (left) and his wife Kim Ok-sook (right) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] On the 26th, major Russian media outlets reported the news of the death of former President Roh Tae-woo, highlighting that he was the South Korean president who established diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Union.

On the 27th, the daily Kommersant published an article titled "The General of South Korean Democracy" on its online edition, introducing former President Roh as "the first South Korean president to shake hands with the Soviet leader."

It also added, "During the presidency of the first South Korean general to come to power through democratic elections, South Korea established relations with China and Eastern European countries."

Kommersant also reported on the darker aspects of former President Roh's tenure, including leading the December 12 coup, the violent suppression of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, and the creation of slush funds amounting to billions of won.

The state-run daily Rossiskaya Gazeta also published an online article titled "General, President, Prisoner: The Death of Former President Roh Tae-woo," citing his achievements such as successfully hosting the 1988 Seoul Olympics and establishing diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries.

However, it evaluated that contemporary South Koreans remember him as "a general who participated in a coup, succeeded in politics, became president, and was later convicted of corruption and other crimes."

Economic media outlets such as Vedomosti and RBC emphasized through their online editions that former President Roh was the first South Korean president to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

In December 1990, former President Roh became the first South Korean leader to visit the Soviet Union, holding a summit with President Gorbachev at the Moscow Kremlin. The following April, President Gorbachev became the first Soviet leader to visit South Korea, holding a South Korea-Soviet Union summit on Jeju Island.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.