First Visit to Gwangju After Retirement by Moon... What Message Will He Convey?

Gwangju Mayor and Jeonnam Governor Accompany
Political Interpretations Cautioned but 'Sajeo Politics' Analysis Also Present

Former President Moon Jae-in will visit Gwangju on the 17th, a day before the May 18 Democratic Movement Memorial Day. Attention is focused on what message former President Moon, visiting Gwangju for the first time since leaving office, will leave behind.

On that day, former President Moon will pay respects at the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery around 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. Accompanying him on this visit will be Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung, who served as the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House during the Moon Jae-in administration, and Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok, the first Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs under Moon’s government.

This is the first time a former president has visited the May 18 Cemetery. Former President Moon attended the May 18 commemorative ceremonies three times in total?from 2017, his first year in office, through 2019 and 2020.

Moon’s side is cautious about political interpretations of this visit. When the film Moon Jae-in Imnida was released and the Pyeongsan Bookstore opened on the 10th, many interpreted these events as the start of Moon’s active political engagement from his residence.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, it is difficult to separate political weight from the steps of a former president. Former President Lee Myung-bak, who visited Cheonggyecheon in Seoul on the 16th, also drew a line by saying he had "no interest in the general election," but many viewed it as a signal of his political comeback.

On the same day, the Democratic Party, including leader Lee and all members of the National Assembly, will head to Gwangju. Although no scheduled meeting with former President Moon is known, if Moon sends a political message through the Democratic Party’s visit to its stronghold of Gwangju, it could help restore public support and consolidate votes.

Currently, the Democratic Party is in a critical crisis due to the party convention cash envelope scandal and lawmaker Kim Nam-guk’s controversy over virtual asset investments. These allegations directly contradict the integrity and morality that the Democratic Party has consistently emphasized. There is a sense of crisis that the party cannot contest the general election under these circumstances, and calls for accountability directed at leader Lee are emerging.

Leader Lee’s choice to visit Yeongnam on the 10th is also widely analyzed as an attempt to find a political breakthrough through a meeting with former President Moon. He emphasized communication among politicians during a meeting with Lee in Pyeongsan Village, Yangsan, Gyeongnam, which was interpreted as a message targeting President Yoon Seok-youl, who has not held a summit meeting.

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