The Korean Peninsula is located at the heart of the region. It is a big bridge linking China and Japan, the continent and the ocean. Such a geopoliti… - Roh Moo-hyun

The country failed to nurture its strength because the ruling group that refused to make accommodations for any changes whatsoever and because those who had vested interests also allied with the ruling group. Indulged in exclusive and dogmatic ideologies, the ruling group rejected alternative thoughts and systems; they did not even spare the lives of those advocate new ways of thinking. Their justifications might have been grand; unfortunately, however, their conclusions were always to protect the vested interests.

However, with great speaking skills and strong Busan dialect, the former human rights lawyer was always confident, in fact bold enough to throw his nameplate in a protest against military dictator Chun Doo-hwan in 1989. The politician was nicknamed "fool" and called a "roly poly" who never gave up his long-cherished dream: break the rigid wall of regionalism between the nation's eastern Gyeongsang Provinces and the western Jeolla Provinces.

I want to make the country a favourable place to do business and an attractive place in which to invest by reforming the markets and systems in a fair and transparent manner based on international standards.