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Moon lacking in public communication

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President Moon Jae-in, second from left, meets citizens at a bar in central Seoul, July 26, 2018. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae
President Moon Jae-in, second from left, meets citizens at a bar in central Seoul, July 26, 2018. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

By Do Je-hae

After his inauguration, one of the things President Moon Jae-in highlighted was his determination to communicate often with the people.

When he took office in May 2017, one of the first things he did was visit the press center at Cheong Wa Dae to personally announce the names of candidates for the position of prime minister and some of his senior aides, along with explanations about why these specific candidates had been nominated. This left an impression with the Korean public who were used to the rigid and uneasy communication style of his ousted predecessor Park Geun-hye.

During the early stages of his presidency, Moon was enthusiastic about getting close to the public and eager to hear their views. One such occasion was a meeting with citizens over beer at a bar in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on July 26, 2018, during which he had "frank conversations" with office workers, business owners and jobseekers about their situations, according to the presidential office.

But such occasions for open communication with the public have become sporadic as his presidency progressed.

In addition, his press conferences have been infrequent as well, a sign of a lack of enthusiasm for talking directly with the press. This is in contrast to world leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump, who held 59 press conferences this year alone, according to a survey by Rep. Park Soo-young of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

The survey shows that Moon is well behind in the number of press conferences compared to his global counterparts such as French President Emmanuel Macron who took office around the same time as Moon. The French leader held 22 press conferences this year, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 13.

Moon has had six press conference since he took office, and only two this year, one at the beginning of the year and another one in May to mark the third anniversary of his inauguration.

His liberal predecessors were far more active, with Kim Dae-jung holding 20 press conferences and Roh Moo-hyun holding 45, while conservative presidents Lee Myung-bak had nine and Park held only seven. Moon still has some time before his term ends in May 2022, but it seems unlikely that he will turn around the disregard for open communication with the public or the press.

The survey also shows that Moon lacks participation in Cabinet meetings, compared to his weekly meetings with his senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae. He has attended just 34 percent of the 193 Cabinet meetings held since his inauguration. Former President Kim Dae-jung's participation rate was around 80 percent, Roh's 51 percent, Lee's 49 percent and Park 30 percent.

"Moon participates in almost every meeting with his senior aides, but he is often absent from Cabinet meetings. This means Moon is more dependent on the political judgment of his aides than the expertise of career officials," Rep. Park, a former presidential aide during the previous Roh administration, said in a statement.

For effective solutions to the various socioeconomic troubles Korea is facing, it is more important than ever for the Korean leader to collect opinions and advice from various sources, even from critics and the opposition.

But the current attitude fails to convince the public that the President is still committed to the "active communication" he highlighted during his inauguration speech.

Moon should listen to what the opposition is saying because their sentiment is increasingly shared by the public amid political wrangling over the alleged acts of wrongdoing by his key aides and ministers, as well as his administration's various policy failures and missteps in issues related to employment and the economy.

"The President is isolated in his office," PPP floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young said during a National Assembly speech last week. "It is not enough to speak unilaterally about his stance during meetings with the Cabinet and senior aides. He must give sincere answers to questions that people have and listen to issues that have frustrated them."


Do Je-hae jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr


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