Liberal activist forecast to win presidential race
SEOUL — A former antigovernment student leader, Moon Jae-in stands poised to succeed ousted leader Park Geunhye, the daughter of the slain South Korean dictator who jailed him in the 1970s.
Moon, the current front-runner in Tuesday’s election, has led a life that seems custom-made for a starring role in South Korean opposition politics.
The son of North Korean refugees, he waited in line as a boy in war-ravaged Busan for free U.S. corn flour and milk powder. Imprisoned as a university student for trying to topple South Korea’s military rulers, the dictatorship later forced Moon into South Korea’s elite special forces. He became a human rights lawyer and then rose to what the media called “King Secretary” to the last liberal leader of the country, with whom he worked to reconcile with North Korea. He later defended that mentor from corruption charges.
Moon, 64, who lost to Park in the 2012 elections by a million votes, says this election will probably be “the very last challenge in my life.” He said in a video message last month that he wants to be a leader who “opens the door for a new era, new politics and a new generation.”
Moon’s popularity rose after Park was felled by a corruption scandal that left the country’s powerful conservative establishment rudderless.
Moon’s nearest rival is a moderate, Ahn Cheolsoo. But Moon has established a growing lead in recent polls.
He has said that if elected, he’ll build a more assertive South Korea, improve ties with North Korea and review the contentious deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in the South.
Some analysts say Moon’s rise to power will clash with President Trump, who wants more pressure on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and has suggested that South Korea should pay more for U.S. security commitments. Others say the seriousness of the North Korean nuclear threat means Moon probably won’t push for any drastic changes.
Similar worries surrounded Moon’s friend, late President Roh Moohyun, who was elected in 2002 on a pledge not to “kowtow” to Washington, though he later sent troops to Iraq at U.S. request and forged a free trade deal with the United States.
If he fails again to win back liberal rule, Moon said he’ll quit politics for good.
“Maybe, I can work as a lawyer again,” Moon wrote recently. “But if I become an ordinary citizen, I want to live freely no matter what I do.”