Former South Korean president Roh Tae Woo dies

Former South Korean president Roh Tae Woo has died aged 88, Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday, citing his aides.

Roh, who served as president from 1988 to 1993, was recently admitted to hospital after his health deteriorated, they said.

Roh, a former general, succeeded former president Chun Doo Hwan after helping him seize power through a 1979 military coup.

The coup filled a power vacuum created by the death of former authoritarian President Park Chung Hee.

As pro-democracy rallies spread massively across the nation in 1987, Roh accepted calls for a direct presidential system and was elected president later that year through a direct vote.

Convicted of corruption

In an apparent bid to shed his military image, Roh began his administration under the slogan of opening "an era of ordinary people."

In 1996, Roh and Chun were convicted of corruption and mutiny for their role in the 1979 military coup and in the brutal crackdown on the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the south-western city of Gwangju.

Roh was sentenced to 17 years in prison and faced around 260 billion won (223 million dollars) in fines. He was pardoned in 1997.