Moon-Yoon row causes public fatigue

Apr 19, 2022, 09:24 am

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President Moon Jae-in (right) and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol (left) head to presidential office’s Sangchunjae for a meeting on March 28, 2022./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lee Wook-jae

Consultations and compromises between President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol seem to be missing although the transfer of power is less than a month away.

The people hoped for a smooth change of power. Contrary to the people’s expectations, however, Moon and Yoon failed to coordinate even on trivial issues, such as ‘Cheong Wa Dae moving out’ issue, disappointing the people.

“The deadline for the resignation of the president is announced through working-level discussions at Cheong Wa Dae,” said Bae Hyun-jin, spokesperson of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, at a press conference in Tongeui-dong, Seoul.

Earlier, Cheong Wa Dae announced that Moon will move out of the presidential office on May 9, a day before his successor Yoon takes office. As Moon and his wife need to spend the night at an undisclosed location in Seoul in order to attend Yoon’s inauguration ceremony the following day, the ruling bloc criticized that Yoon’s decision to open Cheong Wa Dae to the public on inauguration day practically made the president look like as if Moon was being kicked out of Cheong Wa Dae.

“I can feel cruelty from President-elect Yoon, who has neither common sense nor courtesy toward human beings,” said Rep. Ko Min-jung of the ruling Democratic Party.

In the past, it was customary for an outgoing president to leave Cheong Wa Dae on the morning of his successor’s inauguration day. Former presidents Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, and Roh Moo-hyun stayed at Cheong Wa Dae until the day after their tenure to attend the inauguration day of their successors. If both Yoon and Moon’s sides communicated, unnecessary controversy could have been avoided.

Besides, people are critical of Cheong Wa Dae’s decision to fully open Mt. Bukak trails to citizens on the eve of the Cabinet’s approval of budget spending for moving the presidential office.

Cheong Wa Dae described the opening of the trails as “Moon’s promise to the people he made when he was the presidential candidate in 2017.” However, the president’s belated fulfillment of his promise just before the end of his term can be seen as ‘the president’s greed’. Since the opening of Cheong Wa Dae was a common promise made by both Moon and Yoon, a scene of harmony could have been made if this issue had been coordinated together. In fact, it was seen as a competition for pledges.

Due to a series of disputes between Moon and Yoon, there are concerns that the people might not be able to see the two powers coordinating even at Yoon’s inauguration ceremony. Many doubt whether they could resolve various pending issues related to the people’s livelihood that must be addressed immediately.

#Moon Jae-in #Yoon Suk-yeol #relocation #transfer #moving out