Japanese Media: "Moon Administration Focused Solely on Politics for Supporters"

Maintaining a Historic High Approval Rating Over 40% at End of Term... Notable Achievements Are Lacking
Learning from Former President Roh Moo-hyun's Low Approval Rating at End of Term

President Moon Jae-in [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] As President Moon Jae-in's term is set to end on the 9th, a Japanese media outlet criticized the Moon administration, saying it was "a five-year period that pursued policies solely focused on its support base."

Onchi Yosuke, the Seoul bureau chief of Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), recently analyzed in an article titled "South Korea and the Moon Administration: Insufficient Domestic Achievements in Five Years" that "President Moon has passionate supporters."

The media stated, "Despite allowing a conservative force to take over the government, the Moon administration maintained a historically high approval rating of over 40% until the end of its term," but also said, "there were no remarkable achievements in domestic affairs or diplomacy."

It continued, "The Moon administration clung to politics that stuck to its support base until the very end," citing the North Korea policy as a representative example.

The media analyzed that although North Korea was pursuing ballistic missile development and President Moon advocated for a 'Declaration of the End of War,' which was criticized as unrealistic, he insisted on such policies because they could consolidate his support base.

It added, "According to a public opinion poll released by Gallup Korea on the 29th of last month, the Moon administration's approval rating was 45%, unusually high compared to previous administrations," noting that "since democratization, presidential approval ratings at the end of terms have all been below the 20% range."

It also analyzed that the background for President Moon's support-base-centered policies lies in the low approval ratings during the late term of former President Roh Moo-hyun.

The media said, "President Moon took the failure of the Roh administration, which he served as chief secretary, as a lesson," explaining, "Former President Roh implemented unpopular policies such as the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the latter half of his term, resulting in the loss of progressive supporters."

Furthermore, referring to the recently promulgated 'Prosecution Reform' law by President Moon, it claimed that there seemed to be concerns within the ruling party that the prosecution might 'retaliate' against them once a new administration takes office. This statement can be seen as agreeing with the view that the Moon administration pushed for prosecution reform to prevent retaliatory investigations by the prosecution.

Finally, the media reported, "President Moon recently said that after retirement, he wants to live as an ordinary citizen without engaging in practical politics," and added, "After attending the inauguration ceremony of next President Yoon Seok-youl on the 10th, he will head to his residence in Gyeongsangnam-do."

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