New Blue House Owner: Active Activist and Supporter of the Poor

(Baonghean.vn) - Moon Jae-in, the candidate representing the Democratic Party who was elected President of South Korea after the May 9 vote, is often known as an activist rather than a politician.

Moon Jae-in, the new President of South Korea, with his wife, Kim Jung-sook. Photo: Reuters

Despite nearly 10 years of working in the most powerful agencies of the Korean government and political activities, Mr. Moon's image has never been associated with the secret deals, arrogant and authoritarian attitudes and less than transparent relationships with businessmen - which are often characteristics of Korean political leaders.

But as a progressive activist and key aide to a liberal president, Mr. Moon still faces doubts from conservatives about his credibility as a leader to steer the country through daunting challenges such as economic stagnation and threats from North Korea.

As the presidential candidate representing South Korea's largest party after winning four rounds of primaries, the former pro-democracy activist and human rights lawyer was always the favorite in polls ahead of the decisive vote on May 9.

Born into a poor family on Geoje, a small island about 420 kilometers south of Seoul in South Gyeongsang Province, Moon worked as a human rights lawyer for the late President Roh for nearly two decades before entering politics. Moon graduated from Kyunghee University in Seoul and passed the civil service exam in 1980.

The 64-year-old politician and now new Blue House occupant first appeared in public in 2002 as a key member of the election campaign of then-presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun.

After Roh’s election, Moon served as senior secretary from 2005 to 2006 and chief of staff from 2007 to 2008. After nearly four years of low visibility, he entered politics in 2012, when he was elected to the National Assembly in Busan, the country’s second-largest city, which, although close to his hometown, is often considered a traditional conservative stronghold.

He then went on to represent the main opposition Democratic United Party in the 2012 presidential election, losing to Park Geun-hye, then head of the Saenuri Party. After Park was impeached in December, the party split into the Liberty Korea Party and the Bareun Party.

In his second attempt at the presidential seat, Moon faces strong opponents from the two conservative parties - Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party and Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party.

Mr. Moon in a campaign speech. Photo: Yonhap

Despite leading in many opinion polls, the former Democratic leader still faces numerous obstacles on the way to the highest position in government.

Moon spent much of his college years participating in student protests against the dictatorship of President Park Chung-hee, the father of the ousted president. He was arrested in 1975 and 1980 for organizing pro-democracy protests, which is one of the things conservative opponents have used to criticize him as a radical.

In addition, his efforts to promote rapprochement with North Korea and his failure to criticize Pyongyang's human rights abuses have often been the subject of criticism from left-wing politicians.

Those close to him say that Mr. Moon spends much of his time fighting, but fighting for the poor and vulnerable in society, whose welfare needs to be a priority for the next government amid growing economic and social inequality that undermines the country's future growth and social inclusion.

Thu Giang

(According to Yonhap)