Kwon Yang-sook

Kwon Yang-sook
권양숙
Yang-sook in 2004
First Lady of South Korea
In role
25 February 2003 – 24 February 2008
PresidentRoh Moo-hyun
Preceded byLee Hee-ho
Succeeded byKim Yoon-ok
Personal details
Born (1947-12-23) December 23, 1947
Spouse
(m. 1972; died 2009)
EducationHoonsung Girls' Commercial High School (dropped out)
AwardsOrder of the White Eagle (Poland)
Korean name
Hangul
권양숙
Hanja
權良淑
RRGwon Yangsuk
MRKwŏn Yangsuk
Dharma name
Hangul
대덕화
Hanja
大德華
RRDaedeokhwa
MRTaedŏkhwa

Kwon Yang-sook (Korean: 권양숙; pronounced [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]

References

  1. ^ Kwon, Mee-yoo (2009-05-27). "Roh's Funeral to Be Imbued With Buddhism". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  2. ^ "South Korean politician duped out of US$400,000 by fake former first lady". South China Morning Post. 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2020-06-28.