Moon and Yoon Talked This Morning... Meeting Expected Soon

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in called President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol on the 10th to congratulate him. He also sent Chief Secretary Yoo Young-min and Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Lee Cheol-hee to deliver congratulatory flowers to the election headquarters and plans to discuss future meeting schedules.

A Blue House official stated that President Moon had a congratulatory phone call with President-elect Yoon on the morning of the same day.

At 9:10 a.m., President Moon said during the call, "You worked hard through a difficult election," and added, "It is important to wash away the conflicts and divisions of the election process and achieve unity so that the people become one."

President-elect Yoon replied, "Please teach me a lot," and "I hope a meeting can be held soon."

President Moon responded, "Even if political positions and policies differ, there are many continuous aspects of government and handover matters between presidents, so let's meet in person soon to discuss," and said, "I will support the new government to ensure there is no gap." He also urged, "You will be busy with the transition team and inauguration preparations, so please take rest and take good care of your health."

By convention, phone calls between the incumbent president and the president-elect usually take place overnight immediately after the election. However, in this 20th presidential election, since both sides were in a close race and President-elect Yoon's victory was confirmed in the early hours of the 10th, the call was made on that day.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same morning, President Moon sent congratulatory flowers through Chief Secretary Yoo and Senior Secretary Lee. It is expected that the timing of the meeting between President Moon and the president-elect will also be discussed at this occasion. The last time the two met face-to-face was about 21 months ago in June 2020, when President-elect Yoon visited the Blue House to attend the Anti-Corruption Policy Council.

There is also interest in whether the meeting will take place just a few days after the election. President Kim Dae-jung met with President-elect Roh Moo-hyun four days after the 16th presidential election, President Roh met with President-elect Lee Myung-bak nine days after the 17th presidential election, and President Lee met with President-elect Park Geun-hye eight days after the 18th presidential election.

President-elect Yoon will receive treatment equivalent to that of the incumbent president until his inauguration on May 10. According to the Act on the Protection of the President, the president-elect, spouse, and immediate family members are also protected by the Presidential Security Service. The armored vehicle used by the president is also provided.

A dedicated security team protects the president-elect's personal safety 24 hours a day. Metal detectors are installed at the president-elect’s residence and office, and visitors are screened. Specially manufactured armored vehicles and escort vehicles used by the president are provided, and driving is handled by professional personnel from the Security Service. When traveling abroad, protocol and security equivalent to those of the incumbent president are provided.

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