YOON CRITICIZES MOON'S ADMINISTRATION

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President Yoon Suk-yeol harshly criticized the Moon Jae-in administration’s exit from nuclear power, calling it an unwise, bomb-like approach. He again appeared to be opposing the previous administration’s policies, including the conclusion on the death of a South Korean fisheries official in 2020

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President Yoon Suk-yeol made his second visit to a nuclear power plant in two months. He promised to speed up construction of Shin-Hanul 3 and 4 reactors and provide bold financial support. Yoon noted that the nuclear energy industry is at war, standing on a battlefield devastated by a nuclear phase-out policy. There were even more straightforward expressions.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(President) : "I am certain that S. Korea’s nuclear energy industry would have become unrivaled if we didn't waste five years with an unwise choice and instead further consolidated this nuclear energy ecosystem."

He has been making a series of remarks and moves that appear to target the Moon Jae-in government. Recently, the former administration’s conclusion on the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official was overturned. Yoon also called for the reform of public and state-run agencies, criticizing them for being lax over the past five years. There are ongoing conflicts over the chiefs of government agencies who were appointed by the previous administration with remaining terms. A presidential official said it is part of a process to normalize what went wrong under the previous government, and that there are no intentions to deny or oppose its legacies. He also stressed that the moves have nothing to do with recent poor approval ratings for the president. The main opposition criticized the Yoon administration and ruling party for focusing on political retaliation and strife when the economic situation is grave.

[Soundbite] Park Hong-keun(Floor Leader, Democratic Party) : "They are attempting to break through the unfavorable situation by bringing up disputable political issues, in addition to staging political retaliation."

There are growing conflicts between the previous and incumbent administrations over various issues from national security to personnel affairs and to economic policies. The National Assembly is at a standstill due to the rival parties’ disagreement on the selection of key parliamentary positions. On top of this, the DP is scheduled to elect a new leadership. It seems unlikely the two sides will resolve the conflicts and find common ground any time soon.