Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Reporter's notebook President's talk with citizens turns into 100-minute 'fan meeting'
President Moon Jae-in waves to the participants of a meeting with citizens as he leaves broadcaster KBS's studio on Yeouido, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Moon Jae-in's televised meeting with citizens to answer their questions drew mixed responses, as most of the participants' comments were praising Moon's achievements rather than asking about sensitive matters such as real estate issues.
During the 100-minute show on Sunday, Moon answered questions from 204 people who participated in person and 100 people joining online. Cheong Wa Dae said host broadcaster KBS and a poll agency selected the participants based on their gender, age and region.
Since the meeting was the first of its kind in two years, expectations were high for Moon's or the government's ideas on how to handle pending state affairs. But the show drew responses that it was a lackluster event as both the questions and answers failed to touch on the most urgent and sensitive matters.
Most of the questions were on the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Korea, but they were mostly focused on showing appreciation of the government's efforts carrying out the vaccination drive and social distancing measures, rather than criticizing the government's belated securing of sufficient vaccine supply or the side effects of the protracted social distancing measures.
“'K-quarantine' has achieved a noticeable accomplishment recognized by the international community. And this is all because of our President's leadership,” a participant said during the meeting.
Several questions followed about expanding the healthcare workforce, incentives for vaccinated people, COVID-19 oral treatments, support for artists and long-term job creation, but these questions were far from sensitive matters and Moon also provided answers easily in a broad perspective. Due to this atmosphere, many people who watched the show said it fell short of serving the talk session's purpose of the President giving detailed answers to how the government will handle state affairs.
“It was like a fan meeting with a pop star,” Jung Jun-hyung, 34, an office worker based in Seoul, said. “It was a bit of a surprise that nobody talked seriously about the difficulties in buying or renting homes in Seoul. Though Moon said that he feels sorry about the government's real estate policy failure, people do not care about his apology. What they want to know is how the government will regulate loans and collect taxes in the future.”
Though Moon took 25 questions from the participants, there was no reference to the massive land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, or to former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who became the main opposition party presidential candidate after getting into a conflict with Moon over the former's investigations into corruption allegations of Moon's close aides.
On Monday, conservative news outlet New Daily reported that one of the participants of the show was “an ardent Moon supporter,” citing documents from the KBS union. The report also alleged that there was a prepared script for the show, but Cheong Wa Dae dismissed this claim, saying that it is “absolutely untrue” and that “it was impossible for Cheong Wa Dae to know the questions before the show and the public will know this.”
A participant raises a hand to ask President Moon Jae-in a question during a televised meeting with the President at broadcaster KBS's studio in Yeouido, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
As the show ended in an amicable exchange of words, critics said that there is a chance that many of the invited participants simply happened to be Moon supporters.
“Even though the host broadcaster and the survey agency picked participants neutrally, there is no big reason for Moon haters to sign up to participate in the show because the Moon presidency will end soon. It is not easy to ask hostile questions while facing the President in person. With the presidential election coming soon, why would they bother to come out for the event?” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.
With the show ending without offering a clue to pending state affairs, the show was criticized by some for being a stage helping Moon to praise his administration's achievements and wrap up his presidency in an amicable environment.
“It is not the problem of the questions,” Shin said. “Even if the questions were plain, there is no reason for the President to also provide plain answers. … The show appears to be a bid to control Moon's job approval rate and produce a good evaluation on his presidency.”
In recent polls, Moon's approval rating has been around 40 percent. Though this figure is higher than that of former presidents at this late stage in their presidencies, much of the public also seems to be dissatisfied with the Moon government's policies of the past four and a half years. To wrap up his presidency successfully, it is time for Moon to pay greater attention to the criticism against him, rather than only the praise.