S.Korea’s Moon takes presidency of divided country amid N.Korea tensions
SEOUL, (Reuters) - South Korea’s liberal leader Moon Jaein will take the oath of office as president today, tasked with navigating the country out of rising tensions over North Korea’s nuclear programme and the risk of a rift with the United States.
Moon plans to announce major cabinet and presidential staff appointments almost immediately to bring a swift end a power vacuum left by the removal of his predecessor, Park Geun-hye, in a corruption scandal in March.
The National Election Commission confirmed Moon’s win last night (2300 GMT Tuesday), officially starting his presidency.
Moon will hold his first media briefing as president at 2:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) today after a simple inauguration ceremony.
He will also name officials to the key positions of prime minister, head of the National Intelligence Service, chief of staff, and chief bodyguard, a parliament official said.
Yonhap News Agency reported Moon had already decided on provincial governor Lee Nak-yon as prime minister, although a spokesman for Moon said he was unaware of the report and declined to comment further.
In his first public act as president, Moon, 64, spoke by telephone with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Sun-jin, a JSC spokesman said.
A separate statement from Moon’s Democratic Party said he was briefed on the status of the North Korean military and South Korea’s military readiness.
As president, Moon must find a way to coax an increasingly belligerent North Korea to ease its nuclear and missile threats while working with the United States, South Korea’s main ally.
Washington wants to increase pressure on Pyongyang through further isolation and sanctions, in contrast to Moon’s advocacy for greater engagement with the isolated North.
Moon’s administration also needs to figure out how to ease tensions with China stemming from the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile defence system in South Korea to guard against the threat of a North Korean missile strike.
Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Moon on his victory, Chinese state media reported.
Other challenges Moon faces include mending a society badly bruised by the corruption scandal that rocked South Korea’s business and political elite.
“I will make a just, united country,” Moon told a crowd gathered just before midnight to see the former human rights lawyer who entered politics to lead a party just five years ago.
“I will be a president who also serves all the people who did not support me,” he said.
In his first public appearance as president, Moon visited the National Cemetery in Seoul on Wednesday to pay his respects to South Korean heroes.