Roh Hoe-chan

Roh Hoe-chan (, 31 August 1956 – 23 July 2018) was a South Korean politician. He was a member of the 17th, 19th, and 20th National Assemblies. Roh was involved with multiple progressive-leaning parties, lately with the Justice Party from 2012 until his death in 2018.

Early life Roh was born on 31 August 1956 in Busan into a middle-class household. He attended the prestigious Kyunggi High School in the 1970s.

Political career After serving his jail term, Roh was involved with the formation of progressive political parties in the 1990s, which later became the Democratic Labor Party in 2000.

He served as a member of the National Assembly from 2004 to 2008. He co-founded the New Progressive Party with Sim Sang-jung, Cho Seungsoo, and other members of the People's Democracy faction of the Democratic Labor Party. He unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Seoul as a New Progressive Party candidate in 2010. He again served as a member of the National Assembly on behalf of the Unified Progressive Party and the Justice Party in 2012 to 2013. Roh broke with the Unified Progressive Party after allegations that the faction led by the party leader Lee Jung-hee had manipulated the party list to elect members of her own faction into the National Assembly. He, with Sim Sang-jeong and Rhyu Si-min, formed the Progressive Justice Party in October 2012, but in 2013 it became the Justice Party.

He was again elected to the National Assembly, this time as a member of the Justice Party, in 2016.

Election results General elections Year Elections Constituency Political party Votes (%) Results 2004 17th National Assembly General Election Proportional representation (8th) DLP 2,774,061 (13.03%) Elected 2008 18th National Assembly General Election Nowon C (Seoul) NPP 32,111 (40.06%) Defeated 2012 19th National Assembly General Election Nowon C (Seoul) UPP 52,270 (57.21%) Won 2014 2014 By-election Dongjak B (Seoul) Justice 37,382 (48.69%) Defeated 2020 20th National Assembly General Election Changwon Seongsan (South Gyeongsang) Justice 61,897 (51.50%) Won

Local elections Mayor of Seoul Year Elections Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 2010 5th Iocal Election Seoul(Mayoral Elections) NPP 143,459 (3.26%) Defeated

Death Roh committed suicide, aged 61, by jumping from his mother's apartment in Seoul on 23 July 2018. His death occurred during the course of the special prosecutor's investigations into the illegal political funds of Druking, the main perpetrator of the South Korean opinion-rigging scandal.

Roh's will, addressing the Justice Party and its membership, admitted receiving (approximately US$35,300) from Druking's organization but denied any form of favoritism in exchange for the campaign contribution. According to Political Fund Act which he supported, it is still illegal and guilty because the amount of money he has received already exceeds the legitimate scope.

In response to his death, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Roh had made "big contributions to widening the spectrum of [South] Korean politics".