hankyoreh

South Korean President Moon Jae-in gives a speech at the National Fire Service Academy in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, to commemorate National Firefighters’ Day on Nov. 6. (Yonhap News)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory message to US president-elect Joe Biden on Nov. 8, expressing his “great expectations of advancing and opening up the future development of our bilateral relations.”

“Congratulations,” Moon wrote on Twitter at 10 am on Sunday. “Our alliance is strong and the bond between our two countries is rock-solid.”

Moon’s tweet was posted 39 minutes before Biden delivered his victory speech at 8:39 pm in the US.

“I very much look forward to working with you for our shared values,” Moon wrote, closing with the message “Katchi Kapshida,” a Korean phrase meaning “Let’s go together.” This phrase appeared at the end of both the Korean and English versions of his congratulatory message.

On Sunday, Moon didn’t send the congratulatory cable that is traditionally sent upon the election of a new American president. “We’ve used social media to send our congratulations and comment on the South Korea-US alliance, but we’ll have to wait a little longer before sending a government statement,” said a high-ranking official at the Blue House.

In holding off on its official congratulatory cable to Biden, Seoul is probably accounting for the fact that Trump hasn’t conceded yet. Along the same lines, Moon avoided explicitly mentioning Biden’s election victory in his tweet.

Instead, Moon tagged the Twitter handles of Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris to alert them to his message.

Moon will probably wait a little longer before sending the congratulatory cable to Biden and arranging a phone call with him. Rather than rushing into action, the Blue House has reportedly opted for a more calculated approach.

When Trump was elected president in 2016, former President Park Geun-hye sent a congratulatory cable to Trump as soon as his victory was announced and called him the very next day.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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