Kwon Yang-sook

Kwon Yang-sook
Hangul	권양숙
Hanja	權良淑
Revised Romanization	Gwon Yang-suk
McCune–Reischauer	Kwŏn Yangsuk
Dharma name
Hangul	대덕화
Hanja	大德華
Revised Romanization	Daedeokhwa
McCune–Reischauer	Taedŏkhwa

Kwon Yang-sook
Kwon Yang-sook
권양숙
First Lady of South Korea
	In role; 25 February 2003 – 24 February 2008
President	Roh Moo-hyun
Preceded by	Lee Hee-ho
Succeeded by	Kim Yoon-ok
Personal details
Born	December 23, 1947 (age 76); Masan, South Gyeongsang, Southern Korea
Spouse	Roh Moo-hyun (m. 1972; died 2009)
Education	Hoonsung Girls' Commercial High School (dropped out)

Kwon Yang-sook (Korean: 권양숙; Hanja: 權良淑; Korean pronunciation: [kwʌn jaŋ.suk]; born December 23, 1947) was the First Lady of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. She is the widow of the ninth president of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, who committed suicide on May 23, 2009.

Career

She is a Buddhist, with the Dharma name Daedeokhwa, and won support from the Buddhist community during her husband's presidential campaign.^[1]

After Roh's term ended, Kwon was embroiled in a bribery scandal involving her husband. According to Roh's website, Kwon borrowed $1 million from Park Yeon-Cha, CEO of Taekwang Industry, to repay a personal debt.

Impostor

In November 2018, a woman falsely claiming to be Kwon Yang-sook convinced the mayor of Gwanju at the time, Yoon Jang-hyun, to transfer her 450 million won. According to reports, the impostor claimed that she needed the requested money for her daughter and would pay it back hastily.^[2]

Gallery

Kwon in India with Roh Moo-hyun, Manmohan Singh, and A.P.J Abdul Kalam in 2004
Kwon and Roh Moo-hyun at the 2006 APEC gala dinner with President Vladimir Putin of Russia (centre) and George W. Bush and Laura Bush (right)
Kwon Yang-suk (left) with U.S. First Lady Laura Bush