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Thu, September 21, 2017 | 05:07

Opinion > Columnists > Choi Sung-jin >

President Moon in a catch 22

President Moon Jae-in had enjoyed an approval rating of above 80 percent during his first 100 days in office, the second highest in recent memory. Moon’s support rate plunged to 69 percent last Thursday after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test, however. It is still about double that of his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, but the reformative yet folksy leader seems to be losing what he has earned in domestic politics due to poor diplomatic handling. To be sure, there was little the South Korean president could do to keep North Korea’s young tyrant Kim Jong-un from rushing to make hi...

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-09-12 17:26

Seoul should come forward

The war of words between two of the world’s most worrisome leaders - Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump - has come to a temporary lull. Kudos to some grown-ups around the two for calming down their childlike bosses. They will restart the verbal battle anytime, however, as Kim will not abandon his, and his father’s, dream of making his impoverished country a nuclear power, and Trump will go all out to thwart it - by force if needed. And there is no guarantee their war of words will not escalate to a war of weapons in the process. Already, many foreign media outlets, including those in the U.S., are...

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-08-16 17:43

Don't let go of handle!

I can’t drive. A rarity in Korea where one of the first things people - men and women - do upon graduating from high school is to get a license. Being in the passenger’s seat for so long, however, I can tell good drivers from bad. Excellent motorists know the exact coordinates of their destinations, seldom change driving lanes or directions abruptly and make co-riders feel safe and comfortable. By that standard, President Moon Jae-in does not appear to be so good a driver. Right after his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on June 30, Moon said Seoul would sit in the driver’s seat in de...

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-08-01 17:19

Who should apologize to whom?

By Choi Sung-jin Remember Nov. 22, 2011?On that day, Korea’s infamously “vibrant” parliamentary politics opened yet another chapter -- Rep. Kim Sun-dong of the leftist Democratic Labor Party exploded a tear gas canister during a plenary session of the National Assembly.The reason: the then governing Grand National Party (GNP), the predecessor of the conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP), railroaded a bill on Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) defying vehement opposition from liberal parties in the first closed-door plenary meeting in history.Kim, who lost his...

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-07-18 17:38

Price of alliance

“It was a $35 billion handshake.” So said a spokesman for the conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), commenting on the just-ended first summit between presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump. The jeering, intended to downplay the relatively successful diplomatic debut of President Moon, was half wrong - and half right. It was wrong because the conservative LKP, the overwhelmingly pro-U.S. party of former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, would have been willing to spend far more to win the hearts of Americans. It was right because even progressive President Moon had no ...

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-07-04 17:34

Between alliance and self-reliance

Moon Chung-in, a foreign policy adviser to President Moon Jae-in, might now be feeling he is sitting on pins and needles. Conservative politicians and media outlets are making a joint attack on his policy ideas presented during a Wilson Center seminar in Washington, D.C., Friday. The scholar suggested a willingness to reduce the scale of the ROK-U.S. joint military exercises and the frequency of the dispatch of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula if North Korea stops its nuclear and missile programs. Opposition lawmakers accused Moon of undermining the bilateral alliance and earnin...

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-06-20 17:33

For the success of 'J-nomics'

Describing the current income gap and unemployment rate as “close to a disaster,” the Moon Jae-in administration announced an 11.2 trillion-won ($10 billion) supplementary budget Monday to be used to create 110,000 jobs. The formulation of the extra budget upon taking office was in keeping with Moon’s campaign pledge, which also called for creating 810,000 public sector jobs during his five-year tenure. These are moves befitting a leader who presents himself as the “jobs President.” President Moon says these jobs are just pump-priming to induce a greater gush of employment created in the pri...

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-06-06 17:28

Honeymoon and moonshine

“Wow, this is unbelievable. All we did was elect a 'human being’ (as the president).” So exclaimed a blogger, marveling at the changes President Moon Jae-in has brought about on the nation since he took office just two weeks ago. Moon’s series of swift and bold reform measures, coming in parallel with his plain, folksy bearings, have won the hearts of many even among the 59 percent who did not vote for him. A survey shows 87 percent of Koreans think Moon will do a good job as the chief executive.

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-05-23 17:28

Moon seeks Pope's help for summit with N. Korean leader: report

A letter to new President

Dear Mr. President, Congratulations! You are beginning your term as the 19th president of the Republic of Korea Wednesday, a day after the vote. For the first time in the nation’s political history, you have become the president upon election, as the situation facing this country allows you no time for transition as the president-elect.

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-05-09 20:52

What is N. Korea for us?

The presidential TV debate on Sunday, like the two previous ones, was a huge letdown. There was nothing wrong with the five candidates focusing on national security issues, given the debate subject of politics that day and the touch-and-go military situation gripping this divided peninsula. Voters, however, could find little discussions of substance let alone some meaningful conclusions. It was little better than a grade schoolers’ class meeting. Two conservative candidates spent most of their time pressuring the left-of -center leader of election polls to say what he thinks of North Korea. ...

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-04-25 17:15

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