President Moon Jae-in and his successor Yoon Suk-yeol have managed to narrow their differences over major issues related to the transition of power. During their dinner meeting Monday, Moon promised to cooperate with President-elect Yoon's plan to relocate the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to the Ministry of National Defense compound in Yonsgsan, central Seoul.
Moon also recognized the need for an extra budget aimed at compensating small business owners and self-employed people for their losses arising from COVID-19 restrictions. More importantly, he and Yoon agreed on the need to work together for a smooth presidential transition.
The meeting came 19 days after Yoon won the March 9 presidential election. No other past Korean leaders took so long to meet their successors following a presidential poll. The gathering between Moon and Yoon had been scheduled for March 16. But it was postponed due to wide differences over contentious issues between the two sides.
It is fortunate that the outgoing and incoming leaders of our county have met face to face and defused tensions between the ruling and opposition camps. In fact, many people have been disappointed about a head-on clash between Moon and Yoon over sensitive issues such as the presidential office relocation plan and the president's appointments of his loyalists to key posts at state enterprises and public institutions.
The confrontation reached its peak last week when Moon nominated Rhee Chang-yong, director of the International Monetary Fund's Asia and Pacific department, as the governor of the Bank of Korea. Yoon's transition committee strongly protested the nomination, criticizing that the presidential office had not consulted with the panel over who will lead the central bank. However, Moon made it clear that he would exercise his appointment rights until his term ends May 9.
Now, Moon and Yoon appear to have become amicable with each other. But it is still unclear whether they have buried the hatchet once and for all. Rather they seem to have only fixed the situation temporarily. This means that the two sides could go back to a conflict mode anytime because they have only agreed to leave thorny issues to working level discussions.
During the meeting, Moon said that his government will carefully look into and cooperate for the budget needed for the relocation of the presidential office. He also said that the task of moving the office to a new site is fully up to the incoming government. We hope that Moon will hold a Cabinet meeting and approve the use of a reserve budget to facilitate the relocation.
It is also necessary for the Moon administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to cooperate with the transition committee and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to pass a supplement budget bill worth 50 trillion won ($40.83 billion). In addition, the two sides must discuss Yoon's proposal to grant a special pardon to former President Lee Myung-bak who is serving time in jail for corruption. They should also ensure there is no security vacuum following North Korea's test-firing of an ICBM last week.
More than anything else, President Moon and President-elect Yoon should work more closely to promoting national unity and “cooperative” politics. They should go beyond narrow-minded partisanship and political enmity.