Tag: Moon Jae-in

This is pretty funny that someone filed a complaint against President Moon for violating his own coronavirus prevention measures:

President Moon Jae-in has come under fire for having a dinner with four of his former aides at Cheong Wa Dae, which critics claim was in violation of the nationwide ban on gatherings of five or more people as a measure to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Two days after the Moon administration’s latest Cabinet reshuffle, announced April 17, Moon had drinks and dinner with the four former aides to show his appreciation for their work, at his residence within the presidential office compound. The aides were former senior secretary for social policy Yoon Chang-yul, former senior secretary for political affairs Choi Jae-sung, former spokesman Kang Min-seok and former secretary for legal affairs Kim Young-sik. 

However, a person later filed a civil complaint on the website run by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, saying Moon’s gathering with the former aides was against the ban on gatherings of five or more people. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the Blue House is saying that the gathering ban only applies to private gatherings and not official gatherings like what are held at the Blue House. Just like in the US, what is with these politicians that can follow the rules they push down on everyone else.

It appeared that when Trump was in office he did not have a good relationship with Moon and his latest remarks validate this:

Former president Donald Trump on Friday accused his South Korean counterpart of ripping off the United States, while continuing to highlight his supposed friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“Kim Jong-un of North Korea, who I have gotten to know (and like) under the most trying of circumstances, never respected the current President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in,” Trump said in a statement.

“President Moon was weak as a leader and as a negotiator, except when it came to the continued, long term military ripoff of the USA… We were treated like fools for decades, however, I got them to pay billions of dollars more for the military protection and services we render.”

“The Biden Administration is not even going to ask for the additional billions South Korea agreed to pay us,” Trump added, referring to current President Joe Biden.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It wasn’t all that long ago when the ruling Democratic Party were smug and seemed unbeatable. That is no longer the case:

 After his Democratic Party (DP) suffered an election rout, President Moon Jae-in stated Thursday that he takes it as a “reprimand” from the public.

He said he will carry out his duties with a “humble demeanor and heavy sense of responsibility,” according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok.

Moon was quoted as adding that he will concentrate efforts on meeting the people’s “desperate demands,” including overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, revitalizing the economy, stabilizing the people’s livelihoods and the real estate market, and rooting out corruption.

The liberal DP was overwhelmingly defeated by the conservative main opposition People Power Party in the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections the previous day.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Besides the US-ROK joint exercise that the North Koreans are unhappy about, this designation by President Moon might also be why the North Koreans conducted their recent missile test:

The government designated the fourth Friday in March as the Yellow Sea Defense Day to remember those who were killed in waters off the west coast during three battles against North Korea’s provocations in 2002 and 2010.

This year marks the 11th anniversary of two of the three incidents — North Korea’s deadly sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan on March 26, 2010, and the communist nation’s artillery shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, a front-line island in the Yellow Sea, on Nov. 23, 2010.

Moon said that the government has worked hard to possess “overwhelming” military strength to preserve and create peace. 

“Not a single soldier has been injured or killed in the past four years in the Yellow Sea due to armed clashes or military provocations. This is proof that a powerful force creates peace,” he said.

The president also highlighted the government’s plan to deploy a light aircraft carrier by 2033 produced by South Korean technology and deploy a 3,000-ton submarine program, which has been in development since 2018, by 2024.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I was a bit surprised that the Moon administration actually made this designation considering their default appeasement policy towards North Korea. Plus many in the Korean left still believe that North Korea did not sink the Cheonan.

By the way there has been far more incidents than just the sinking of the Cheonan and the Yeonpyeong Island shelling in the Yellow Sea. The 2002 West Sea Naval Battle was another major deadly clash in these waters:

This seems pretty naive on Moon’s part to the political realities in the U.S. that incoming President Biden is going to follow any policy that Trump advocated for:

South Korea proposed to the incoming Joe Biden administration a reopening of dialogue with North Korea in the spirit of the 2018 Singapore summit, according to a senior official in Seoul on Monday.  
   
The official told the JoongAng Ilbo that Seoul cast outgoing President Donald Trump’s agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Singapore in June 2018 as a success, and encouraged new talks along similar lines.  
   
It was not revealed to whom in the Biden camp the message was relayed, or how, although the recipients are believed to be diplomatic figures associated with the president-elect. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.