Economic and social imbalance could become a serious threat to the future of the nation. The gaps across classes and regions, companies in terms of t… - Roh Moo-hyun

It is unpredictable what course of action North Korea will take in the coming days, but no government has a policy that can never be changed. They can never be unchanged. And depending on the circumstances or conditions, any government's policy can change I think.

When he came to office, Roh appeared to offer South Korea a new start. He was relatively youthful, independent and seemed ready to tackle the country’s deeply embedded political corruption. In addition to promising not to “kowtow to the Americans” he also supported the “sunshine” policy of diplomatic approach towards North Korea. Yet Roh’s term was riddled with problems. At one point he threatened to quit and on another he voiced his fears that he was too “incompetent” to serve as the president. There was also controversy when he and his supporters left the Millennium Democratic Party in 2003 to form a new party, the Uri Party. His decision to send South Korean troops to Iraq was deeply unpopular while his diplomatic pursuit of the north was seized on by his opportunist as appeasement.

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.