A former student activist, human rights lawyer, and chief of staff to then-President Roh Moo-hyun,[6] Moon once served as leader of Minjoo Party of Korea (2015–2016) and a member of the 19th National Assembly (2012–2016). He was also a candidate of the former Democratic United Party in the 2012 presidential election in which he lost narrowly to Park Geun-hye.
Early life and education
Born in Geoje, South Korea, Moon Jae-in was the first son among five children of father Moon Yong-hyung and mother Kang Han-ok.[citation needed] His father was a refugee from South Hamgyeong Province (currently in North Korea) who fled his native city of Hamhung during the Hamhung Retreat.[7]His family eventually settled in Busan and Moon attended Kyungnam High School.[7][8] He enrolled in Kyunghee University where he majored in law.[9] He was arrested, convicted, and imprisoned and expelled from the university after he organized a student protest against the Yushin Constitution.[7][10][11] Later, he was conscripted into the military and assigned to the South Korean special forces, where he participated in "Operation Paul Bunyan" during the Axe murder incident.[12]
After his discharge, he passed the Bar Exam and was admitted to the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He graduated second in his class but was not admitted to become a judge or government prosecutor due to his history of activism against the Yushin dictatorship under Park Chung-hee's rule as a student.[13] Moon chose to become a lawyer instead.
Early career
Human rights attorney
After becoming a lawyer, he partnered and worked with future President Roh Moo-hyun.[14] They remained friends up until Roh's suicide in 2009. Along with Roh, he took cases involving human rights and civil rights issues. He was a member of Minbyun and the Chairman of Human Rights at Busan Bar.[citation needed]Hankyoreh
He was a founding member of the progressive South Korean newspaper, The Hankyoreh, in 1988.[15][16]Roh Moo-hyun administration
Due to Roh's insistence, Moon became Roh's campaign manager during his presidential bid.[17] After Roh's victory, Moon became Roh's chief of staff and close aide. His roles in Roh's administration included:- 2003 – February 2004: Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs
- May 2004 – January 2005: Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Society
- January 2005 – May 2006: Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs
- March 2007 – February 2008: Chief Secretary of the President
- August 2007: Chairperson of the Promotion of the 2nd North-South Korea Summit
Early political career (2012–2017)
Entrance to politics
Despite his earlier indifference, he began to get involved in politics. He published a memoir called Moon Jae-in: The Destiny which became a bestseller.[18] His popularity had been rising steady against the likely opponent in the presidential race, Park Geun-hye. For instance, in a February 2012 poll, Moon managed to gain parity with Park in popularity.[19]Moon managed to capitalize on the conservatives' decline in popularity amid a series of corruption scandals. As one pundit said, "Moon had managed to portray himself as a moderate and rational leader who has the backing of the younger generation".[20]
2012 general election
In 2012, Moon entered a bid for a seat in the National Assembly in the 20th legislative election. Moon won a seat in the Sasang District of Busan on 11 April 2012 as a member of the Democratic United Party with 55% of the vote.[9]2012 presidential campaign
On September 16, 2012, Moon received the presidential nomination for the Democratic United Party.He ran for the 2012 presidential election as the Democratic United Party's candidate in a three-way race against Park Geun-hye, the incumbent ruling party’s candidate and daughter of the late president Park Chung-hee,[21] as well as independent software mogul Ahn Cheol-soo. Ahn dropped out of the race and endorsed Moon after polls showed a most likely definitive loss for both candidates were there to be a three-way race against Park. Moon went to lose the election.
Leader of the opposition
Moon was elected as the leader of New Politics Alliance for Democracy on February 2, 2015. Moon's leadership led former NPAD party leader and 2012 presidential candidate rival Ahn Cheol-soo to quit and form the centrist People's Party. Ahn's departure and Moon's new tenure as party leader led to the newly renaming the liberal party as the Democratic (Minjoo) Party.During his leadership, Moon scouted several politically prominent people, including police studies/criminology expert Pyo Chang-won, political critic Lee Chul-hee and notably former president Park's secretary Cho Ung-chun to prepare for upcoming South Korean legislative election, 2016. After his recruitment, Moon resigned his position for another scouted advisor/former Park advisor Kim Chong-in.[22]
2017 presidential election
Moon was considered the frontrunner to win Korea's 2017 presidential election following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. He won the Minjoo Party's nomination against fellow party members Ahn Hee-jung, Lee Jae-myung, and Choi Sung with 57% of the votes.The general election originally had 15 announced candidates. Moon faced four other major party nominees during the election, including 2012 presidential rival and past party colleague Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party and Hong Jun-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party. He was elected the 19th President of South Korea (12th person to be elected to the office) in the 2017 presidential election by a large plurality over two other major opponents, conservative Hong Joon-pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo.
On May 10, 2017, Moon ended his campaign by winning 41.1% votes (with 13,423,800 votes) to win the plurality to become the next President of South Korea.[23]
Presidency
Education
Moon's predecessor and daughter of Park Chung-hee, Park Geun-hye, originally planned to mandate usage of state-issued history textbooks in 2018. Moon reversed these plans in May 2017 in one of his first major acts as president. Critics of Park's original plan saw this as a way for Park to mitigate some representations of her father's oppressive policies under a dictatorial rule, only highlighting the positive accomplishments of the past. Park had stated she wanted to replace the "left-leaning" books with those created from the government that would instill greater patriotism.[26] Although the Park government had switched its official position on requiring the textbooks and allowed schools to choose the state-issued version from the backlash, Moon's action scrapped the program altogether. Schools will continue to choose privately published, government approved textbooks written under educational guidelines instead.[27]Political views
National security
Moon came out in favor of repealing Korea's national security laws, which have been alleged by the Korean liberals to be a tool of the historically right-wing establishment of South Korea to restrict and oppress left-wing voices in Korean politics. He also promised to abolish the domestic wing of NIS (National Intelligence Service) in order to maintain their political neutrality, transferring domestic affairs to the police force.[citation needed]Foreign policy
Moon has favored a peaceful reunification between the two Koreas. He was both widely criticized and widely praised for his comments stating that his first visit if elected president would be to visit North Korea, a visit that would be not unlike Roh Moo-hyun's visit to the country in 2007. Similarly, Moon's foreign policy towards North Korea is considered to closely align with the Sunshine Policy embraced by former liberal presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.[16]His 2017 presidential campaign has supported re-opening of the Kaesong Industrial Park.[28]
Moon's relatively liberal stance in foreign policy is reflected in his writing in a book: “I’m pro-U.S., but now South Korea should adopt diplomacy in which it can discuss a U.S. request and say no to the Americans.”[29] He opposes a re-balance of the security alliance with the United States, but has also stated that he would like South Korea "to be able to take the lead on matters on the Korean Peninsula."[16] At the same time, Moon has stated that he considers America as a "friend" for its role in helping South Korea avoid communism while helping its economic growth.[30]
Economic policy
Moon's campaign promise in 2017 included intentions to put a 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion) fiscal stimulus to support job creation, start-ups, and small to mid-sized companies. His announced goal is to create 810,000 public sector jobs through raising taxes on the wealthy.[31]Moon's policy against corporate corruption, specifically in regards to Korean conglomerates in chaebols is to give "minority shareholders more power in electing board members" of the companies.[31]
Transparency
Moon also promised transparency on his presidency, moving the president residence from palatial and isolated Blue House to an existing government complex in downtown Seoul.[32]Social values
In a televised presidential debate, Moon said he opposes homosexuality, in response to conservative candidate Hong Jun-pyo's remarks that gay soldiers were a source of weakness in the Korean military. Moon's remark prompted immediate criticism during the debate from Sim Sang-jung, the sole presidential candidate to support LGBT rights and a member of the leftist Justice Party.[33] The remark also prompted outrage from gay rights activists, considering Moon's representation as the leading liberal candidate and former human rights lawyer. Some of Moon's supporters dismissed the comments as a necessity to win, as South Korea tends to the conservative side in social issues.[34] Moon later clarified his comments suggesting he still believes there should be no discrimination based on one's sexual orientation.[35]Electoral history
| Election | Year | Position | Party Affiliation | Votes | Percentage of votes | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19th General Election | 2012 | National Assembly Member (Busan, Sasang District) | Democratic United Party | 65,336 | 55.05% | Won |
| 18th Presidential Election | 2012 | President | Democratic United Party | 14,692,632 | 48.02% | Lost (2nd) |
| 19th Presidential Election | 2017 | President | Democratic Party of Korea | 13,423,800 | 41.08% | Won |
No comments: