[Initial Perspective] Respecting Diversity, Will It Be Possible This Time?

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The Moon Jae-in administration, born from the historic tragedy of the impeachment of a sitting president, passed into history on the 9th. On the 10th, former President Moon headed to his residence in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, expressing gratitude to his supporters by saying, "Thanks to you all, I was able to be a happy president until the very end," and shared his thoughts, "I am liberated and have become a free man."

Former President Moon went down in history as the president who maintained a solid approval rating of 40% until his last day in office. This contrasts with previous presidents who, after enjoying high approval ratings early on, faced a lame-duck period with poor ratings toward the end of their terms. He is also the only president since the direct election system whose positive national evaluation exceeded his vote share, indicating a strong and loyal support base.

Political experts cite the absence of a ‘lame duck’ period as one of Moon’s distinctive features, calling it unusual. However, they express skepticism about whether this is entirely positive.

Despite high approval ratings, his administration failed to secure a second term. One expert noted, "Failing to achieve regime continuation despite high approval ratings means the political preferences of the people are completely divided into two."

While Moon became a ‘happy president until the end,’ unfortunately, societal divisions deepened over the past five years. Issues such as the ‘Cho Kuk incident,’ real estate problems, and gender issues intensified divides across ideology, generation, region, assets like real estate, and gender. Because he failed to ease these divisions, former President Moon cannot escape responsibility as a leader, no matter how high his solid approval ratings were.

President Yoon Seok-youl, who will lead the next five years, must keep this in mind. Politics that only focus on a solid support base may maintain approval ratings but cannot achieve regime continuation. What people expect from President Yoon is politics that embraces all citizens. Since the rationale for moving his office to Yongsan was to listen to the voices of the people broadly, he must be more inclusive and open.

Of course, in a political landscape already divided, integration and cooperation are challenging tasks. The presidential election result, decided by a margin of 0.7 percentage points, reflected the split nature of our society. Moreover, with the local elections in June less than a month away, political division is likely to deepen further. Nevertheless, the new administration must achieve national unity for South Korea to move forward.

On the morning of the 10th, when President Yoon’s inauguration ceremony was held, a ‘rainbow’ appeared in the sky over the National Assembly in Yeouido, drawing attention. Traditionally, rainbows symbolize peace and good fortune and are also used as a symbol by sexual minorities, but they can also be interpreted as representing ‘diversity.’ Although President Yoon did not mention ‘unity’ even once in his inaugural speech, it is hoped that seeing the rainbow will remind him of the urgent need for inclusive politics that respects diversity.

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