[That person] Five years of the Moon Jae-in administration, as seen by Lim Jong-seok, a 'powerful man'

1. Stories of people who lost power

I wanted to hear the stories of those who lost power and those who lost the war.

The people who are preparing for the descent now are those who seemed to have conquered the world just 5 years ago.

Those who go out will have as much to say to those who come in.

There will also be regrets and regrets, sadness and loss, lack of power, and fear of the future.

They will be revisiting what they did well and what they did wrong, why they gave up the government, and there will be advice that they would like to give to those who came to power.

I couldn't find a person like this to hear such a story.

As the Chief of Staff at the Blue House, he led the initial personnel and policies of the Moon Jae-in administration.

He is a symbolic figure of the 386 generation, so you could hear the story about the 386 generation's withdrawal, and I was curious about the future of this person.

In November of last year, I suggested that we meet once, but he said that the time was not yet.

He postponed it, saying that he might not be able to tell everything frankly yet, because he might not know when the current president's term is over.

In early February, I sent another text message requesting an interview, and he said that he would take time out once the election was over and before the new government was launched.

So, the date we got was the 30th of last March.

In the early 2000s, when this person was a first-time lawmaker, he made a relationship as a reporter and reporter.

He's not personally in contact, but he's known for quite some time.

When he comforted him by saying that the pain of losing the election would be great, he said he was okay with the wounded supporters, but he was worried.

He met for the first time in 6 years, and he couldn't say that he was a good person even if he greeted him.

His original black face looked a little rough, and his hair was quite gray.

It may be due to his age, but also the impact of his election defeat.

2. The promise of 'national unity' has been blown away

"I don't think it can be evaluated as a success or failure. It's a pity around this time. I think President Moon Jae-in has done his best for you. It's sad and disappointing because the invincibility and policy incidents have greatly disappointed and hurt people.

It was not the face of a sinner who asked for the mortal sin of plaster, nor the face of a wretched loser.

Words such as his heartbreaking contrition, confession of inadequacy, and earnest reflection were rare, but this person's harsh expression seemed to replace them.

It was 'I could have done better', not 'why couldn't I do that'.

The reason this person used the expression of disappointment and pain is because 'about this time'.

Because he lost the election and it is time to hand over power.

It was a reflection of inflicting the pain of defeat on those who supported them, not that the past five years were wrong.

On the first day of his inauguration as president, Moon Jae-in toured the opposition parties, promising cooperation and unity.

No matter how you look at it, that promise doesn't seem to have been kept.

During the five years of the Moon Jae-in administration, the Republic of Korea became even more torn and divided.

The last presidential election, which was like a war, clearly shows that fact.

“As a result, it cannot be denied that our society is becoming more divided and growing to a greater extent, so we have to accept the criticism that we have not provided an opportunity for national unity for five years. It's not that I didn't make an effort for it."

Under the banner of patriotism and patriotism, he tried to care for and treat those who sacrificed himself for the sake of the Republic of Korea as much as possible, and attempted emotional integration that transcends ideology by calling people of merit for democratization to the 6.

He actively promoted the appointment of opposition figures such as Kim Se-yeon, Kim Seong-sik, and Lee Jong-hoon to the cabinet.

When suspicions arose that MB was conducting a background investigation over the UAE nuclear power plant order issue, he called Lim Tae-hee, who was the chief of MB's secretary, and delivered the message 'There is nothing to worry about as an adult'.

He said that there was absolutely no attempt at the Blue House level to liquidate corruption or attempt political retaliation.

On behalf of the president, who thought he could meet the political director or the editor-in-chief but there was no reason to meet with the media, it was also up to him to meet the conservative media owners and ask for their understanding and cooperation.

However, the division in the Republic of Korea was much deeper because such efforts could yield tangible results.

While there were some politicians who saw only polarized supporters and 'slapped' them, they complained that it was difficult to carry out rational reforms in a limited time and under limited conditions with the power delegated through elections.

Regarding the cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties, President Moon Jae-in did not hide his regrets.

He recommended frequent meetings with opposition figures several times, but the president showed more interest in institutionalization such as a woman, a man, a political council rather than such a meeting.

From the perspective of the first opposition party, there was no reason to want to attend such a gathering that was treated as one of several opposition parties.

After making a suggestion to the president, it was difficult to meet with Hong Jun-pyo, who was then the leader of the Liberty Korea Party, but it ended in a one-time meeting.

Neither of them felt the need to meet any more.

"I think this is a limitation due to the political history rather than the president's fault. Basically, he has a distrust of the politics of the National Assembly. That is what I regret the most about the president. I'm really sorry, too. I wanted the president to meet with the opposition leaders and lawmakers regardless of whether it was public or private, but that could be the president's style."

He said that it is not the purpose of politics to agitate supporters.

He said that it was just an act to gain representation by gaining support, and after being delegated the authority as representative, politics had to compromise with the other party to produce results.

It sounded like a confession that the task of national unity is that difficult to think about rather than a presidential system that warns in anticipation of a Messiah who will provide a miracle that cannot be achieved every five years, rather than a parliamentary system that 'expects less and disappoints less'.

3. The Fatherland Situation- When I had to lose to the people, I did not lose

He talked directly and passionately about his experiences in the 'fatherland situation' phase.

He accurately remembered the date as well as the time associated with the event.

It was about eight months after he resigned as the chief of staff at the Blue House in January 2019.

"It was during the Chuseok holiday, and the president called. It was the first phone call I made from my personal phone after leaving the Blue House. The president said, 'What would you like to do?'

I must have called for about 30 minutes. I did everything I could to stop it. Now I have to listen to the public opinion, and I have to convince the ruling party and supporters. I don't always ask people to go and see the people in difficult times. Did you say… ‘I’ll take good care of you’.”

After the call was over, he received a call from the Blue House aides asking if he could come into the Blue House the next day.

When I went to the Blue House around 3 pm, two people from the Democratic Party, as well as myself and Governor Kim Kyung-soo, were summoned.

Instead of being unable to attend due to circumstances, the president asked for the opinions of the attendees, saying that Kim Kyung-soo had conveyed the opinion that he had to step back, and that if he went one step further, he would not be able to get out of the pit of political conflict.

After talking for about an hour and a half, the two men from the party insistently and strongly demanded the appointment of the Minister of Homeland.

"No. Those two had already had lunch with the prime minister. At that time, only Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon gave a cautious or negative opinion, and the party leader and floor leader said that they strongly and clearly requested the appointment. "I wanted to curse the Democratic people who didn't say a word, but I couldn't speak until now because I was lying down and spitting.

As I left the Blue House, I thought that if the party made such a strong demand, the president would have no choice but to appoint Minister Cho Kuk.

He called the motherland.

"The situation is different now, and for this reason, I objected to your appointment. But the president seems to have no choice but to have you do it because of the party's position, but now the only way seems to be for the chief to quit. You have to stop here. Family And if you stop here, the people will lament that you lost another good person. I don't know even stupid Roh Moo-hyun, but the nationwide 'Don't Cry Homeland' unit will protect you.

The country said it had no desire for a minister.

He only announced a proposal for prosecutorial reform and said he would walk out on his own feet.

He said it would take a month or two at most.

The moment he was appointed, he said he would fall into a quagmire from which he could not get out, but his motherland did not change his position.

He even sent a text message to the president's personal phone, but in the end, the appointment of Cho Kuk was forced.

This man said he was ill.

He said that if he had been in the Blue House, he would have done everything he could to stop him, but if the party had come out like that, he might have made a different decision.

It was later revealed that there was also the fact that Yoon Seok-yeol "intimidated" that he would resign as prosecutor-general if he forced the appointment of Cho Kuk.

"I was going to resign, so I did. It's hard to believe, but something like that happened internally. But in the end, I didn't resign, and from then on, I turned to politics. I decided to start politics while investigating the Ulsan Mayor incident and nuclear power plant. I think it will."

He said that the Democratic Party fell into a typical 'Yeoido politics' trap.

It is said that the people who are the scorers did not see how the people were grading because they did politics by looking only at the other party and not the people.

This person's belief is that politics is what can come out as losing on the national scorecard even if you win by KO.

4. Meeting with Moon Jae-in, who changed our destiny

In 2012, he served as the secretary-general during the time of CEO Han Myung-sook.

There was a conflict over the so-called <Innovation and Integration> and the nomination issue, which was led by Lee Hae-chan and Moon Seong-geun.

In the end, Lee Hae-chan sent an ultimatum to CEO Han Myung-sook stating that he would resign if he did not get rid of this person as the secretary-general.

It was Moon Jae-in who delivered this letter to Han Myung-sook.

In the end, he resigned as secretary-general, and in the aftermath of this, he returned the nomination rights for the 18th.

It was the most difficult time for this person.

At this time, Moon Jae-in always felt sorry for the incident.

In the 2012 presidential election, Moon Jae-in asked for the post of the chief of the political affairs office, but that failed due to opposition from within the party.

Moon Jae-in occasionally called to see if he was in debt to this person, and he would only see two people once or twice a year.

In September 2016, Moon Jae-in asked this person, who was classified as Park Won-soon, to take over as the camp secretary.

His affection and respect for President Moon Jae-in was unquestionable, but he was not a yes-man.

Moon Jae-in was the type of person who rarely talked about himself first.

When he greets, he seldom speaks to anyone first, but when he was organizing the presidential campaign, he was somewhat unexpected.

It was talking about appointing Son Hye-won as the head of public relations and Jeong Cheong-rae as the head of SNS.

Moon Jae-in has long said that he made a promise with the two of them, so he should do his own thing, but this person did not follow the instructions.

Although Moon Jae-in did not hide his displeasure, he offered to meet Son Hye-won and Jeong Cheong-rae.

Son Hye-won was persuaded without difficulty, but Jeong Cheong-rae had already talked with the candidate, and she was at odds with why you came out.

She persuaded Moon Jae-in by preparing an alternative who could be hired instead of Chung-rae.

The person suggested as an alternative was Yoon Young-chan, a former Dong-A Ilbo reporter who worked as a vice president of Naver.

In the end, Moon Jae-in also accepted this person's opinion.

It was no coincidence that he was selected as the Chief of the Secretariat of the Blue House despite being an inscription.

He looks like a good-looking innocent boy who always smiles, but he is a scary fighter.

This man, who was a rolling stone and a short-term filmmaker, became the second-in-command in the government because he had the absolute trust of Moon Jae-in, but it would not have been possible without his tenacious fighting spirit.

It wasn't the first time he had a fight with Roh Young-min and Jeon Jeon-cheol, who are close relatives, the major shareholders.

"When we were organizing the presidential campaign, the 'Owl Group' people tried to take over as the general manager. They thought they were the major shareholders, so they didn't contact me well. He said, 'I'm very straight forward,' he said.

Politicians are not just given seats.

If you have survived a politics in which human desires are dramatic and routine, and have reached a point where you are told that you are the second-in-command of a government, then this person's will to power must be acknowledged.

The reason this man was said to be in power was because he was not afraid to go against the will of the president at times.

"There are many things he didn't hear about the president," he said.

In the process of carving out the Moon Jae-in government, the personal problems of Ahn Gyeong-hwan, who was nominated as a candidate for justice minister, were revealed, and the Blue House was in trouble.

Public opinion was getting worse day by day, but neither Ahn Kyung-hwan himself nor the president said anything.

He decided that it was not something that should be left as it is, so he held a meeting with the chief of the Blue House.

This person thought that the appointment would be difficult, and the participants had similar opinions.

The results of the meeting were communicated to Ahn Gyeong-hwan by the senior civil affairs government, and Ahn Gyeong-hwan announced his intention to resign within 30 minutes of receiving this message.

He did not report any of this process to the president.

It was said that he should report to the president, but he said that if he would, what would he do for the meeting, and that he would take all responsibility.

President Ahn was furious at this fact.

“It was past 10 that night, and I got a call from In-bae Song, the assistant chief of staff. ‘Everyone is welcome,’ I hurriedly went to the official residence and said, ‘How can you do that without a word to me?’ It was the first time I had seen the president so angry. Hye-won Son, Cheong-rae Jeong It wasn't judo."

He said that he did not make a political decision, but thought and judged from the perspective of Professor Ahn Kyung-hwan.

Still, the president's anger was not resolved.

"The president didn't say anything for a long time, but the silence was very uncomfortable. After a while, he said, 'Would you like a glass of wine?' He said, 'Thank you.' I've done it a few times and it's only the eyes of the elected president, but I've never done that before. Then who can say the right thing?"

When the president gave an unacceptable instruction, he said that he was crushed by asking for time to discuss it, crushed by saying that he would like to hear from outsiders, and crushed by looking at the president's mood.

As time went on, the president generally accepted his ideas.

Lee Nak-yeon also said, "Director Lim Jong-seok has a talent for telling the president things he doesn't want to hear without making him feel bad."

It is said that although the president felt uncomfortable with such a situation, he did not hesitate to say something because of such discomfort.

"The president may be wrong, the president may not be sure, and the president may be unable to do anything because of his face, and I don't think it's not the chief of staff to wait for the sense to drop by itself."

In the early cabinet and Blue House appointments led by this person, close friends of the original aid, such as the 'Owl Meeting', were almost excluded.

Those from the party also had more non-literary tendencies than pro-men.

There were complaints from all over that this man was driving solo with the president on his back.

He said that he must have done so when he said that the existence of Im Jong-seok, the chief of staff, could have been gritty to his original counterparts.

Tensions between this person and his close relatives, which began when the presidential campaign was organized, have continued over the past five years.

Minister of Public Administration and Security Jeon Jeon-cheol, Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye, and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang-hee said that they did not understand at all.

These are people who are classified as original relatives, and they were hired after this person left the Blue House.

"There are two things I regret about the president… The first is about the National Assembly, and the second is that I am afraid of using someone I don't know well, so I use a familiar person. If I hire someone I don't know, I can make my own person... "

In January 2019, he resigned as Chief of Staff.

He never thought that Noh Young-min would become his successor.

This person thought that it would be good for Noh Young-min to become the last chief of staff.

Things haven't been going well, he said, ever since he announced he would step down as chief of staff.

No one came to ask about his own successor.

The president did not ask for opinions on his successor.

He did not clearly draw a line saying that my responsibility ended here, but he said that the decision-making structure of the Blue House had changed after he came out.

It is true that the president was particularly fond of and trusted, but this man was not the president's entire political assets.

The president had several knives, and this man was one of the many knives the president had.

5. Real estate hurts, diplomacy and security are proud

The government changed because of real estate.

When the story of real estate came out, I started talking from the attitude of the progressive camp to human desires.

"I am against the rude treatment of people's desires in a situation where politics cannot provide a better alternative. Your attitude towards desires should be serious and cautious. It is not right to impose moral standards on this. I don't think you should."

Even though he had ten mouths to say, the story about real estate was long.

He pointed out the reasons for the failure of the real estate policy by mixing words with excessive ambition and political stubbornness.

When asked why he raised Kim Soo-hyeon, who was in charge of affairs, to the head of the policy department and kept the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi, he said, "To be honest, I don't know that either."

However, from the perspective of Kim Hyun-mi, he said that there would be injustice for not being able to work according to his beliefs while clashing with the Blue House.

The story of this man, who had lost his cow and the barn had been destroyed, sounded like a complaint that no one could be heard.

There was a five-year roadmap on real estate issues, and implementing it is not very difficult for policy makers.

Looking at the face of this person who said that, I could guess how embarrassed and dismayed by Moon Jae-in, the Blue House, the government, and the ruling party over the real estate issue.

While at the Blue House, three inter-Korean summits were held, and this man was at the heart of it.

He overtook the head of the National Intelligence Service, the Minister of Unification, and the head of the Blue House's security office to serve as the chairman of the inter-Korean summit promotion committee.

He must have enjoyed the vivid feeling of making a new history with his own hands, and the power struggle that took place in Yeouido and Gwanghwamun must have felt like an alley fight among children.

In September 2018, Moon Jae-in delivered a speech in front of 150,000 Pyongyang citizens at the Pyongyang 5.1 Stadium by this person.

"I tried to pretend to be the president in that situation for a few days. I think I thought for a few hours on what to call my first title. 'Pyongyang citizens, brothers and sisters in the North,' I think it was probably the case. I also uploaded a manuscript in the speech secretary's office, and I told you to refer only to the manuscript I wrote, but the president said the day before he left. 'It was decided to go with most of the contents of the manuscript of Director Im.'"

Mixing secret stories about foreign affairs and security issues We talked a lot while we were there, and we didn't hide our pride that we had been to places that other people had not been to, but it was inevitable that this person's story sounded somewhat vain in a situation where inter-Korean and North Korea relations had returned to the level of 2017.

I thought that this person's sense of disappointment would be great, but that's not necessarily the case.

He went up to the eighth ridge of the mountain, and he said there would be a difference between those who came down with the last peak in front of them and those who didn't.

He said that the current government's deep conversations with Kim Jong-un will help the next government as well.

The new world he saw on the 8th ridge that no one had ever been to has changed this man a lot, and it is sure to become his political asset.

6. Generation 386 - overtrained and overrepresented generation

He led the student movement as chairman of the Jeon Dae-hyeop, 'The Steel Troops of Salvation'.

1989, 33 years ago.

Since more than 100,000 wanted flyers were distributed all over the country, Hong-An was already famous from his youth.

Going into politics after three years and six months of imprisonment was, in a way, expected.

It was a symbol of the new young blood that Kim Dae-jung brought along with Woo Sang-ho, Lee In-young, and Oh Young-sik.

In the 16th general election in 2000, he was elected in Seong-dong, Seoul, defeating Lee Se-gi, a four-term lawmaker and two-time minister of the Democratic Party.

He's more proud to have won without speaking ill of his opponents than to becoming a member of parliament at just 34.

After being re-elected in the 16th and 17th, his political career seemed to sail in the wind.

In 2004, when President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached, the image of a wounded animal howling and wailing remains in the minds of many.

He has been a member of the National Assembly twice and has served as the chief of the Secretariat of the Blue House.

He failed the National Assembly three times, including being defeated in the 2008 general election, and was finally acquitted by the Supreme Court, but was also convicted in the first trial for being implicated in a bribery case by his aides.

After he resigned as the chief of staff at the Blue House, he tried to run for office in Jongno, Seoul in the 21st general election, but failed in the end.

After resigning as chief of staff at the Blue House, he holds titles such as special assistant to the president and is also engaged in inter-Korean exchanges at the private level, but to put it mildly, he is a free man and half-political nerd.

He asked this person whether Im Jong-seok and their era had passed.

He said that he generally agreed with a blunt expression on his face.

They said that they were an 'overtrained and overrepresented generation', had too many, too long, and the social side effects of that were obvious.

However, he said he did not agree with the view of decrying the 386 political elites as incompetent, hypocritical, and position-seeking groups.

“I accept the story of comparing myself to the previous generation and passing on the role to the next generation even 100 times, but I think that this generation is engulfed in vested interests, incompetent and obsessed with ideology, so they don’t study and have no ability to run state affairs but are greedy. I do not agree with criticism that is neither criticism. This generation is not confined to politics because it is greedy, but it is a time when this generation has been in all areas of society for a decade and is now slowly being pushed away."

After announcing that he would quit institutional politics in 2019, but after a rally to support the 2020 general election, and this year's presidential election, I asked this person if he was willing to run for the mayor of Seoul.

He said that he intends to do so when asked for a role by the party.

However, he said that if he was hurt in the process, it would be worse than not doing it.

He said that he would not back down if there was something to do in the future, but that he would not push a boat in the muddy field.

When water comes in while repairing the boat, he will row out at that time.

It is the most difficult thing to decide whether it is time to leave or wait, but now is the time to wait.

He said that at first, when climbing a mountain, one's physical strength and willpower are important, but from the 7th part of the ridge, the weather decides everything.

Now that the level of the Republic of Korea has risen, I believe that politics does not have to ruin it greatly, and I believe that the role that politics can play is not as large as it used to be.

Nor is he confident that he can do power politics better than others.

I have no intention of going into politics as if to live on, nor do I intend to go into politics by begging for others.

However, hesitating to step out of politics completely like Kim Young-chun is because the fate of the Korean Peninsula depends on inter-Korean issues and the idea that there is something to contribute to the Republic of Korea in this area.

The season of nature is spring, but for this person, spring is the spring of spring.

The political seat for this person is narrow, and it is unlikely that it will get better as time goes on.

The voices calling for responsibility for the failure to re-create the regime may grow louder, and the theory of resignation of the 386 generation will be constantly raised.

The word 386, which was like a decoration, has now become a heavy burden, and that burden will become heavier as time goes by.

This man's political assets are very outdated, and even the statute of limitations is running out.

The political weight class has grown too large to lean on anyone's shoulders.

He was on one side in the shadow of Moon Jae-in, but he had a different outcome from the pro-Moon politicians.

As for Lee Jae-myung, who is emerging as the new mainstream of the Democratic Party, he has clearly set a sharp edge in his intra-party primary process.

The 386 student movement group has long since split up.

It is unlikely that Moon Jae-in, who wants to return to nature and become a forgotten person, will act as his political guardian.

7. I want to have my own language and my own philosophy

Last year, ahead of the Seoul mayor's by-election, he posted on his SNS, "Was Park Won-soon really such a bad person?"

Park Won-soon's fault is one mistake, but it is too much to evaluate Park Won-soon by that alone, and she says that if it is the Seoul mayoral by-election, she should have an evaluation of the things Park Won-soon promoted.

"Of course, I don't think secondary harm should be done to the victim. However, to mention Park Won-soon is a secondary harm, and I am not referring to the victim. Park Won-soon has many criticisms, but he emphasizes safety. There are values ​​such as , environment, and human-friendly policies, but I did not evaluate them and thought that elections were not held. I guess the title was a bit harsh."

As with his writings about Park Won-soon, he is not afraid to talk about insults to people in the same camp.

The same is true of the stories that the Blue House did not intervene in the media affairs and that the organized forces took over the editorial rights as well as the management rights.

In 2004, when the abolition of the National Security Act was a trend in the passport market, he was beaten up for insisting on a revision rather than abolition, and he was stoned in favor of the Korea-US FTA agreement.

He talked about himself without hesitation enough to think it was reckless.

If I clearly articulate my philosophy and values, and if those thoughts are accepted by the voters, I am ready to open my dream or quit.

The president-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's plan to relocate the Oval Office can be fully reviewed, but he criticized it to the point that it is not.

Since you were in that position five years ago, I asked if you could understand the new government's position.

"From my point of view, I think that might have been enough to defend it, but I didn't criticize it anyway. I tried very hard not to include the criticism between the lines of the article. Personally, I think Sejong is better, but I think Yongsan is good too. But it’s just that you have to form a promotion committee and prepare enough to go. It’s always going to happen if you’re in a hurry.”

The meeting that started with lunch ended around 5pm.

I wanted to take a look at this person's 56-year-old life, but the conversation focused on the inside story of power that took place before and after the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in government.

The story this person experienced is still vivid enough to be dismissed as a secret story of the price.

As news, there were a lot of stories that still had the statute of limitations.

He wanted to speak his own language and have his own philosophy.

A person who has seen another world needs a language to describe another world.

Not only did he see the other side of power, he was deeply involved in the process of determining the fate of the Korean Peninsula and the fate of the 70 million Koreans.

In order to properly express such experiences, more than the language of the three directors is needed.

I think it comes from that context to say that the philosophical part from his personal worries has not been sorted out yet.

No matter how you look at it, this person's political climate is cloudy for the time being.

Just as many politicians who have heard the word "powerful" wandered around on the 7th ridge and disappeared and disappeared, this person may be too.

In the past few years I haven't seen it, it has gotten heavier and deeper.

I wondered if it was someone I knew before.

The desire to have one's own language and one's own philosophy is an expression of the will to climb the 7th ridge or higher, and there is always an abyss between having a desire and realizing that desire.

It remains to be seen how this person crosses the abyss.

※ The full video of the interview with Lim Jong-seok, former chief of staff, will be released for the first time on the SBS News YouTube channel at 8:25 pm on the 9th.