President Moon faces calls for 'political neutrality'
Senior presidential secretary for political affairs Lee Cheol-hee speaks during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, Oct. 26. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Moon Jae-in is facing growing calls for him to display political neutrality leading up to the presidential election in March, with the opposition bloc gearing up an offensive against Moon and his ministers' membership of the ruling party.
During a radio interview, Tuesday, senior presidential secretary for political affairs Lee Cheol-hee dismissed the main opposition People Power Party's (PPP) demand for the President to abandon his Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) membership.
“Former presidents have left their parties (mostly in the last years of their terms) in order to prevent their policy failures from becoming a burden to them. In terms of political responsibility, it is appropriate for the President to maintain his party membership,” Lee said during the interview on MBC Radio.
The comment came after Rep. Kim Jung-jae of the PPP called on presidential chief of staff Yoo Young-min last week to ask Moon to leave the DPK to ensure the political neutrality of the election. Yoo briefly responded that he “does not feel the necessity to answer.”
Since former President Roh Tae-woo, who was in office from 1988 to 1993, almost all former presidents have left their political parties ― either voluntarily or involuntarily ― four years into their five-year terms. Former President Lee Myung-bak, in office from 2008 to 2013, is the only one who kept his membership until the end of his presidency. Moon's direct predecessor, Park Geun-hye, was expelled from her party following a massive corruption scandal.
Due to these precedents, there have been calls from the opposition since May for Moon to leave the DPK, but these failed to gain momentum as the President retained a relatively high approval rating.
Main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl, right, speaks to senior presidential secretary for political affairs Lee Cheol-hee, during a meeting at the party's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-keun
Talk about Moon's party membership, however, gained new attention Monday after PPP presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl demanded that Moon “maintain neutrality” in the election.
Yoon noted that Minister of Justice Park Beom-kye and Minister of Interior and Safety Jeon Hae-cheol are both DPK members who have kept their seats in the National Assembly.
The opposition claims that the justice ministry, which supervises the prosecution, and the interior and safety ministry, which oversees the police, could influence election campaigns and eventually the election result if they unfairly deal with complaints submitted to them by the National Election Commission or others in favor of the ruling party candidate.
“This is what the party has been demanding for so far,” said Rep. Lee Yang-soo, Yoon's spokesman. “We have been raising questions about whether the interior minister and the justice minister, who can influence the election, will be able to keep politically neutral during the election.”
Moon faced additional calls from the opposition bloc to retain neutrality after meeting DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung last month to congratulate him on his candidacy. The presidential office explained that Moon met Lee as a member of the DPK, but the PPP called it “intervention” in the election.
Not only the PPP but also minor opposition People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo and independent candidate Kim Dong-yeon have asked Moon to observe political neutrality in the election, during their respective meetings with political affairs secretary Lee. The senior secretary met Yoon, Ahn and Kim, Monday, to deliver the President's congratulations on their candidacies.
President Moon Jae-in poses with ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung during their meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Oct. 26. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog