President Moon's 'Summit Call', Support for Yoo Myung-hee... Will the Underdog's Rebellion Succeed?

President Moon Holds Consecutive Calls with Foreign Leaders, Yoo Myung-hee Campaigns for WTO Director-General... "Two More Leader Calls Scheduled on the 22nd"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] "There will be two official calls on Thursday as well." Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, said this on the 22nd regarding President Moon Jae-in's schedule. These days, calls with foreign heads of state are part of President Moon's daily routine.

He has already completed phone call schedules with heads of state from six countries just this week. On the 19th, he spoke with the Malaysian leader, and on the 20th, he had calls with the leaders of Italy, Luxembourg, and Egypt. On the 21st, he exchanged opinions by phone with the leaders of Denmark and India.

Even when requests for support and cooperation from various heads of state regarding the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were flooding in, it was never this busy. Handling calls with two to three heads of state daily is considered an unusual occurrence.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The reason President Moon is putting effort into communication with foreign leaders is due to the election campaign of Yoo Myung-hee, the Director-General for Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. He has taken an active role to support Yoo, who advanced to the final round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election.

In a call with Indian Prime Minister Modi on the 21st, President Moon appealed for support for Yoo, describing her as "a candidate who possesses expertise in trade, a network built as a current trade minister, and political leadership."

From the perspective of 'election engineering,' the general view is that Yoo is at a disadvantage compared to Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Okonjo has a higher reputation on the international stage, based on her 25 years of experience at the World Bank.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yoo's position is also affected by the full support from African countries and movements from major European nations and others worldwide, which are concerns for her campaign. The reason President Moon is focusing on calls with heads of state in this situation is to amplify the 'underdog effect.' It is a strategic move to lay the groundwork for a scenario where a relatively weaker candidate becomes the protagonist of a dramatic turnaround.

Spokesperson Kang said, "President Moon is working tirelessly to ensure Yoo's victory," adding that "(the Prime Ministers of India and Denmark) wished for Yoo's success."

South Korea has risen as a model country in COVID-19 prevention, enhancing its international standing. The WTO Director-General election is a test to confirm South Korea's changed status in the international community. If Yoo wins, it would be a surprising reversal of expectations, and even if she loses, performing well in a difficult election is seen as a success. This is why the government is making an all-out effort.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.