Moon calls for national unity after ruling party's presidential election loss

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with his senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, March 14. Yonhap

President Moon Jae-in called for national unity Monday to address the challenges facing South Korea after a polarizing presidential vote, saying the most urgent task for now was to heal national divisions.

Moon made the remarks at a meeting with his senior aides, as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative People Power Party is stepping up efforts to form a transition committee.

Moon said the March 9 election exposed "many conflicts amid unprecedented fierce competition."

"Above all, this is a time for unity. The most urgent task is to deal with, heal and integrate the divided public sentiment clearly revealed in the election process and result," Moon said.

The election of Yoon, who won a tight election last week by a razor-thin margin of 0.73 percent with 48.56 percent of the vote, was partly viewed as a referendum on the liberal Moon Jae-in administration.

Moon said his government will cooperate with Yoon to help the next administration start work without a vacuum in state affairs.

The President said his administration will continue to make utmost efforts for the stable management of the situation on the Korean Peninsula until his term ends in May, as concerns have risen that North Korea could test a newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile at any time.

South Korea and the United States have recently announced their assessment that Pyongyang's purported satellite tests, Feb. 27 and March 5, were part of efforts to develop a new ICBM system ahead of a possible full-range missile launch.

North Korea has claimed the launches were for "reconnaissance satellite" development.

Moon urged the North to "stop actions that heighten crises and take the path of dialogue and diplomacy."

He also instructed aides to make sure to stabilize medical responses to the pandemic, saying the Omicron wave in South Korea has either passed its peak or will reach it soon.

Driven by the highly transmissible variant, South Korea is grappling with its worst wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sunday, the country reported more than 300,000 new COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day. (Yonhap)