hankyoreh

South Korean President Moon Jae-in takes the presidential oath during his inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly on May 10, 2017. (Lee Jung-woo, staff reporter)

On Nov. 9, the self-declared “candlelit administration” of South Korean President Moon Jae-in reached its midpoint. While the Moon administration embraced the demands of demonstrators who flooded the streets by pledging to create a “country worthy of the name,” “justice and fairness,” and “peace on the Korean Peninsula,” its performance thus far has not been satisfactory. While the administration has had its successes, misguided policies have combined with challenging circumstances both at home and abroad, leaving no doubt that the administration hasn’t met the nation’s expectations.

The most disappointing areas are surely the economy and the standard of living. The Moon administration’s economic policy, which focused on income-led growth, a fair economy, and innovative growth, represented an alternative approach aimed at overcoming the limitations of the past growth strategy, which depended upon a small number of conglomerates. Moon’s policy of bolstering the social safety net by raising the minimum wage and expanding the basic pension and childhood allowance and of increasing households’ disposable income by expanding free education and national health insurance (known as “Moon Jae-in Care”) has also gotten some results.

But Moon’s economic approach lost its luster as small business owners fiercely resisted the scale and speed of minimum wage increases and as the self-employed sector showed signs of contracting. It’s also unfortunate that bills aimed at reforming the chaebols, bills that are directly connected with the fair economy, remain in limbo, though admittedly that is the fault of paralysis in the National Assembly. Other serious problems are the frustration felt by young people and the working class and decreasing residential stability, which has been shaken by the boom in housing prices in Seoul. The government also needs to seriously reconsider its failure to respond adequately to the economic downturn, holding to a policy of fiscal austerity despite economic contraction and poor conditions overseas, including the trade dispute between the US and China.

The government needs to focus on getting results through holding its course on policy while making adjustments where necessary. It must also be careful not to be swayed by indiscriminate criticism that is tantamount to a political attack: if it loses sight of its original goals, it could forfeit both reform and growth. We must not return to an obsolete model of growth.

There is also much to be desired in the areas of foreign policy and security. The grave tensions that pervaded the Korean Peninsula during Moon’s first year in office underwent a dramatic reversal when North Korea took part in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and three inter-Korean summits and two North Korea-US summits represented a major turning point toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.

But the denuclearization talks between North Korea and the US have been at a stalemate since they broke down in the Hanoi summit, deflating high hopes. Inter-Korean relations, which are linked to North Korea-US relations, have also been hobbled and recently appear to be slipping backward, as evidenced by North Korea’s dismaying demand for the demolition of South Korean facilities at the Mt. Kumgang tourist resort. The government needs to redouble its efforts to serve as a facilitator and mediator in North Korea-US negotiations, a role that Moon strongly advocated during the first part of his presidency; it also needs to exercise its creativity in trying out new bold ideas to reach a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations.

This administration has many shortcomings in the area of politics. There have been some limited examples of cooperative governance by the ruling and opposition parties — in fast-tracking bills about the electoral system and a body that would investigate crimes by senior officials, for example — but overall the politics of confrontation have been repeated again and again. That’s largely because of stonewalling by the Liberty Korea Party, which is determined to neutralize the Moon administration.

But Moon should also ask himself whether his communication and cooperative leadership have been adequate, and whether he has done enough to win over the opposition party. He ought to seriously reflect on the fact that his repeated botched appointments — the Cho Kuk debacle in particular — have provoked skepticism about the fairness and justice of the candlelit administration and have given the conservative forces, which were left in disarray after the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, an opportunity to regroup.

There are some who contend that the Moon administration has already missed the best time to carry out its reforms. According to this argument, Moon missed his chance when he failed to push forward with prosecutorial and economic reform in the first half of his presidency. While there’s truth to this argument, it’s not too late. This is time for Moon to engage in some clear-eyed and heartfelt soul-searching. We hope that Moon will lay the foundation for success in the two years and six months that remain in his presidency through a meticulous strategy of sticking to principle and not making the same mistake twice.

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]