South Korea: Moon Jae-in ends his mandate after several failures

Former Korean President Moon Jae-in during a speech in Seoul on March 1, 2022. AFP - JEON HEON-KYUN

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Yoon Suk-yeol, a new president, is sworn in this Tuesday, May 10 in South Korea.

The 61-year-old Conservative was narrowly elected in March.

Political analysts are unanimous on one point: if he comes to power today, it is because of the frustration of the electorate with regard to his successor, Moon Jae-in, who has accumulated failures.

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Perhaps the South Koreans had expected too much from Moon Jae-in.

His mandate had already started badly: hardly had his inaugural speech delivered in 2017, a speech in which he had promised the moral integrity that was to guide his presidency, that one of his close advisers was fired for a business. of bribes.

Then, in the following years, several other personalities of his party found themselves entangled in sex or corruption scandals.

Moon Jae-in, who had also promised a more egalitarian South Korea, was unable to curb the exorbitant surge in real estate.

Apartments in Seoul, the capital, are now worth more than double that at the start of his term.

But his main failure remains his North Korean diplomacy:

Moon Jae-in was the architect of the negotiations

between North Korean President Kim Jong Un and his American counterpart Donald Trump.

But that historic upturn came to an abrupt end in 2019.

Pyongyang has since resumed missile test firings,

and satellite images now suggest

North Korea is preparing a nuclear test.

" 

rude boy

"

The new president, a novice in politics, has promised

a tougher foreign policy for his country

, the 10th largest economy in the world, after the failed attempts at rapprochement with the North that marked the mandate of his predecessor Moon Jae-in.

In the wake of his election victory, Yoon Suk-yeol pledged to "

deal with severity

" with the threat posed by the Kim Jong Un regime. "

But the door to dialogue is always open

," he told his colleagues .

supporters.

During his election campaign, he had however called Kim Jong-un a " 

rude boy

", throwing to voters: " 

If you give me a chance, I will teach him good manners

 ".

Yoon Suk-yeol also called for a stronger relationship with his American ally, and spoke with President Joe Biden, pledging in particular to maintain "

close coordination

 " on North Korea.

(with AFP)

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  • South Korea

  • North Korea

  • Moon Jae-in

  • Yoon Suk-yeol

  • Kim Jong Un

  • Joe Biden