New president

last updated 8 January 2015

Seoul

Populist Roh Moo Hyun, 56, took office as South Korea’s youngest-ever president this week, with an ambitious, even radical agenda. He has said he wants to limit the power of the clannish, family-run corporate giants known as chaebol, promote full equality for women, and raise taxes on the rich. A former labor activist who never attended university, Roh often compares himself to another leader from a humble background—Abraham Lincoln. But it’s not clear how Roh will conduct relations with the U.S. While he distanced himself from the anti-American demonstrations of the campaign season, he also said South Korea’s alliance with the U.S. should be “rebalanced.” North Korea greeted Roh’s inauguration by testing a short-range missile.