S.KOREA UNDER PRESIDENT MOON

[Anchor Lead]

Moon has enjoyed approval ratings of over 40 percent even until the end of his term. But he has failed in the ruling party regaining power in the last presidential election. Let’s recap the past five years under President Moon.

[Pkg]

The Moon administration called itself a government established by a candlelight revolution.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon’s Inauguration Ceremony(May 10, 2017) : “Under the government led by Moon Jae-in and the Democratic Party, opportunities will be equal, the process will be impartial and the results will be fair.”

People had high hopes for the new government and the presidential office was full of energy.

[Soundbite] (May 11, 2017) : “I selected women as my aides when I was serving as a senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.”

Tensions were running high on the Korean Peninsula with North Korea conducting a series of ICBM launches and a sixth nuclear test. But the icy inter-Korean relations thawed on the occasion of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

[Soundbite] Panmunjeom(Apr. 27, 2018) : “Did you have any trouble coming here?”

[Soundbite] Kim Jong-un(N. Korean Leader) : “No. I am really excited.”

From a Washington-Pyongyang summit to leaders of the two Koreas and the U.S. gathering together, a series of unprecedented and historical scenes were staged.

[Soundbite] Rungnado May Day Stadium, Pyongyang(Sept. 19, 2018)) : “We lived together for 5,000 years but remain separated for 7 decades. Propose the two Koreas take a big step toward reunification and peace.”

However, following the collapse of the Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi, North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office and scrapped a moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests. Observers say inter-Korean relations have gone back to that of five years ago. The Moon government has also been under the spolight for its real estate policy. Despite its pledge not to repeat the mistakes made by the Roh Moo-hyun administration, the results were quite different. At first Moon showed confidence in his real estate policy, which soon turned into reflection of failure, and then explanations for the failure.

[Soundbite] (Nov. 19, 2019) : “I am confident that the government’s real estate policies will work out.”

[Soundbite] (May 10, 2021) : “The government can make no excuses regarding the real estate issue.”

[Soundbite] (Apr. 25, 2022) : “Soaring property prices are a global phenomenon.”

Regarding its responses to COVID-19, the Moon administration was praised for taking effective virus curbs and recording a low fatality rate. But at the same time, it was also criticized for failing to properly compensate small business owners for pandemic-related damage. The Moon administration has been continuously denounced for its insiders’ double standards represented by the scandal involving former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.

[Soundbite] (Apr. 25, 2022) : “My personnel choices sometimes fell short of public standards and that also placed a burden during the election. I apologize to the people for that.”

Ultimately, the prosecutor general Moon had appointed became the presidential candidate of the main opposition party and won the election - a situation the president called ironic. The presidential office assessed that the Moon administration had successfully overcome multiple crises even without a transition committee in the wake of ex-President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment. It also highlighted the economic achievements, such as reaching the national income of 30,000 U.S. dollars and increased exports. Its approval rate of over 40 percent until the end of the term is also unprecedented. But analysts say the government’s complacency amid the strong support is one of the reasons for its defeat in the presidential election.