Incoming, outgoing leaders clash amid power transition

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol moves to a restaurant in Tongui-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, Wednesday, after his scheduled luncheon with President Moon Jae-in was postponed. Joint Press Corps

By Nam Hyun-woo

• Published Mar 16, 2022 5:08 PM KST
• Updated Mar 16, 2022 6:00 PM KST

By Nam Hyun-woo

The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration's clash with the outgoing Moon Jae-in government in a number of areas during the transition flared up on Wednesday with the abrupt postponement of their first one-on-one meeting just hours before the scheduled event.

Even before that, signs of their prickly relationship were apparent as officials of the Moon government began to comment on President-elect Yoon's moves to fulfill some of his campaign pledges, including abolishing the office of the senior secretary for civil affairs and relocating the presidential office.

Yoon and Moon were scheduled to have lunch on Wednesday, but both sides announced that the event had been postponed, just four hours before the meeting.

“The meeting between President Moon and President-elect Yoon will be rescheduled, as there were issues that remained unresolved during working-level consultations,” presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said. “The two sides will continue engaging through working-level talks.”

Yoon's spokeswoman, Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), made similar remarks, adding, “We cannot disclose” why the meeting was postponed.

PPP Rep. Chang Je-won, who is Yoon's chief of staff, told reporters on Wednesday that the meeting needed to be rescheduled due to a “lack of time,” and that the two sides will continue working-level talks, but also refused to disclose more detailed reasons.

Although the two sides did not reveal the specific reason for the postponement, it has been interpreted as a clash between the current and incoming administrations over the agenda of the meeting ― including a pardon for former President Lee Myung-bak as well as President Moon's appointments for the heads of public institutions during what's left of his single, five-year term.

While announcing the Yoon-Moon meeting a day earlier, the PPP spokesperson dropped a hint that Yoon would ask Moon to grant a presidential pardon for the conservative former president, and that he expected him to accept the request in the name of national unity.

However, disagreements could have erupted in the working-level negotiations because talks concerning a pardon for former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyung-soo also emerged as a possible exchange among the ruling liberal bloc. Former Governor Kim is one of the closest aides to Moon, and is now in jail for his involvement in the manipulation of online comments in favor of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Moon.

The two sides also clashed over the transition committee's demand for “a consultation” when Cheong Wa Dae names the next Bank of Korea governor and other heads of public institutions.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said on Tuesday that she is “not aware of the transition committee's demand for a consultation” and “it is clear that the Moon government's term will last until May 9, and it is natural for President Moon to exercise his right to name heads of public institutions until then.”

Inevitable collision

The power struggle between the President-elect and the President was also detected in the two sides' battle over Prosecutor-General Kim O-su.

PPP Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, who is known as one of Yoon's closest aides, said in a radio interview on Tuesday, “There are doubts as to whether Kim is properly commanding the prosecution's investigations into the Seongnam land development scandal.” Kweon added, “I personally believe Kim should make a decision about keeping his post, if he continues to do so.”

He was referring to a development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in which the PPP claims that DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was involved.

Despite the indirect pressure, the prosecutor-general said in a statement that he will “fulfill his duty in accordance with the laws and principles.”

Kim was appointed by President Moon in June as the successor to Yoon, after the President-elect resigned from his post to become the candidate of the main opposition party. Kim's term will last until May 2023.

The two sides are also clashing over Yoon's pledge to abolish the post of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.

While announcing his promise on Monday, Yoon said that the office of the civil affairs secretary has played a role in “controlling opposing political groups under the guise of conducting legal activities, as well as running secret investigations as if it is reviewing public opinions.”

Over Yoon's remark, the Cheong Wa Dae official said, “It seems inappropriate to cite practices which are not done by the current government as the grounds for abolishing the office of civil affairs secretary,” and, “The Moon government's civil affairs secretary office has faithfully done its duty as prescribed by the law.”

Yoon's plan to relocate the presidential office is also a source of conflict.

Since his campaign, the president-elect has been promising that his office as the president will not be in the current Cheong Wa Dae building in Samcheong-dong. His spokeswoman said that the transition committee is reviewing multiple places, including the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan District, Seoul.

However, the former head of the ministry's National Defense Policy Office, Yeo Suk-joo, said in a radio interview that the plan is “very unrealistic,” given the place's purpose of storing arms and potential traffic problems that will be caused by the presidential motorcade.

Also, doubts are growing over the purpose of moving the presidential office, because Yoon has pledged to move the office for “better communication with the people.” The defense ministry building is located in a relatively unpopulated area of Yongsan District.