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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	(1947-12-23) 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.

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.

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

References

1. Mee-yoo, Kwon (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.

• 1947 births
• Living people
• People from South Gyeongsang Province
• First ladies of South Korea
• South Korean Buddhists