South Korea’s President Moon’s mandate is coming to an end, so it’s time to draw conclusions when it comes to his time in office, on one hand, the economy is currently spiraling, relations with Japan are hitting rock bottom, and Moon’s signature policy of deténte with neighboring North Korea is going nowhere, on the other hand, Moon has been globally praised for his handling of the COVID outbreak with his strategy that focused on mass testing and aggressive contact tracing which allowed the country to escape what would have been a disastrous lockdown.
Furthermore, South Korea’s President Moon granted a pardon to former President Park Geun-hye, who was in prison after being convicted of corruption, Park, became South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office when the Constitutional Court upheld a parliament vote in 2017 to impeach her over a scandal that also landed the heads of two conglomerates, including Samsung, in jail.
She was brought down after being found guilty of colluding with a friend to receive tens of billions of won from major conglomerates mostly to fund her friend’s family and nonprofit foundations.
Moon’s office said the decision to pardon Park was intended to “overcome unfortunate past history, promote people’s unity and join hands for the future.” and added, “I hope this would provide a chance to go beyond differences in thoughts and pros and cons, and open a new era of integration and unity,”.
Park’s imprisonment had become a political hot potato that divided the country, with conservatives having weekly rallies in downtown Seoul urging her release and criticizing Moon until the COVID-19 pandemic emerged.
Regardless of the mentioned political debate, the main goal of the Moon’s mandate, which will end in May, has always been ensuring peace with the North part of the country.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has promised to use his last months to push for diplomatic progress with North Korea like never before, despite Pyongyang’s silence on efforts to secure a declaration of peace between the two countries.
“I will not stop the efforts to institutionalize a lasting peace,” Moon said in his last New Year’s speech, following with “The government will continue the normalization of relations between Korea and the irreversible path to peace until the end. I hope that the next administration will continue its efforts for dialogue.”
However, while Moon is pushing for an end-to-war declaration, the negotiation process has been halted because of the disagreements over international demands for the North part of the country to abandon its nuclear weapons arsenal and the fact that Pyongyang called for Washington and Seoul to ease sanctions and suspend other “political enemies”.
The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953, North and South Korea have technically been at war ever since backed by China and the US respectively and locked in a tense relationship.
President Moon has long advocated for a formal declaration to the end of the conflict, but observers believe that it would be very difficult to achieve.
In September Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, sent signals that her country could potentially be open to talks but only if the US dropped what she called a “hostile policy” against them.
As a matter of fact, North Korea consistently objects to the presence of US troops in South Korea; the joint military drills held every year between the US and South Korea; as well as US-led sanctions against North Korea’s weapons program but the US has repeatedly said that North Korea must first abandon its nuclear weapons before any sanctions can be lifted.
The South Korean leader has previously argued that a formal declaration to end the war would encourage the North to give up its nuclear weapons as the Biden administration seems happy to talk about it because no one wants a permanent state of war on the peninsula but some believe an agreement would reward Kim Jong-un without getting any guarantees in return, in addition. North Korean state media has also described the idea as “premature”.
There’s a bigger problem for President Moon. South Korea did not sign the armistice. This end-of-war agreement is not his gift to give to the history books.
Whatever he chooses to focus on, president Moon will need to tread carefully. Expectations are high, and any misstep could cost him support not only from the general public but from members of his own party as well, many of whom are already looking toward the 2022 election and beyond. Ultimately, his next moves will also determine whether Moon is remembered as the leader who helped South Korea weather the coronavirus pandemic, or for something else entirely.
References:
South Korea’s Moon pledges final push for peace with North, available at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/3/south-koreas-moon-pledges-final-push-for-peace-with-north
President Moon Jae-In wins big mandate in Historic South Korean elections, available at:
President Moon’s Democratic Party wins mandate with record turnout in South Korea, available at:
South Korea’s Moon urges more beds for Covid-19 patients in a serious state, available at:
South Korea closes schools, imposes mask mandate amis severe emergency, available at:
South Korea’s Moon promises final push for North Korea peace, available at:
https://www.euronews.com/2022/01/03/southkorea-politics-moon-int
South Korean President Moon Jae-In Makes one last attempt to heal his homeland, available at;
https://time.com/6075235/moon-jae-in-south-korea-election/
After a landslide win amid COVID-19 South Korea’s Moon looks to his legacy, available at:
The history Korean peace declaration was made possible by social movements, available at:
https://inthesetimes.com/article/north-south-korea-peace-war-donald-trump-kim-jong-un-moon-jae-in
South Korea: end to Korean war agreed to in principle, available at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59632727
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
