Moon, Yoon to have one-on-one meeting to discuss tricky issues

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, left, and President Moon Jae-in / Yonhap

Pardoning ex-president Lee Myung-bak, North Korea to be discussed over luncheon

By Nam Hyun-woo

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will meet outgoing President Moon Jae-in, Wednesday. In what appears to be an awkward encounter, they are expected to talk about granting presidential amnesty to former President Lee Myung-bak, appointing the chief of the central bank and handling North Korea's recent intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

According to Cheong Wa Dae and the presidential transition committee, Tuesday, Yoon and Moon will have lunch together at Cheong Wa Dae at noon.

"In order to have a candid talk, the luncheon will be held without other attendants," presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement.

The meeting comes a week after Yoon won the presidential election on March 9. He was the prosecutor-general appointed by Moon, who turned into the flag-bearer of the main opposition People Power Party, and will now meet Moon as the president-elect. It will be their first meeting since Yoon participated in an anti-corruption event at Cheong Wa Dae in June 2020.

In this July 25, 2019, file photo, President Moon Jae-in walks with then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol after appointing him as the top prosecutor during a ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae. Yonhap

Yoon's spokeswoman, Rep. Kim Eun-hye, also said that the President-elect and the President will have lunch, adding, "President-elect Yoon has long been thinking about requesting a presidential pardon for former President Lee Myung-bak," and, "We hope the meeting will be an opportunity for national unity."

Conservative former President Lee, whose term was from 2008 to 2013, has been serving a 17-year prison sentence since October 2020 on charges of embezzlement and bribery. Along with his successor, Park Geun-hye, who was released from a 22-year prison term on a Dec. 24 presidential pardon, Lee is one of two former presidents who served prison terms during the liberal Moon administration.

Yoon has been promising that he would seek a presidential pardon for Lee, on the grounds of pursuing "national unity."

When he granted amnesty to Park last year, Moon cited national unity as one of his reasons, and he also noted on Monday that "it is time to move toward a politics of integration and cooperation."

Although Moon has talked about the important task of healing and unifying the divided public, it remains uncertain whether the President will pardon Lee, because the presidential office has been saying that the cases of Park and Lee are different.

Park was impeached and imprisoned on 16 charges including bribery and coercion related to allowing her confidant, Choi Soon-sil, to exercise private influence on state affairs. The issue divided Korea between those who believed Park was responsible for her wrongdoing and others who believe Park was framed as a political victim.

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On the other hand, Lee's imprisonment came after he left office, and his case is based on bribes he had taken while in office, as well as embezzlement while he was an executive at Hyundai. When releasing Park last year, Cheong Wa Dae noted that the cases of the two former presidents are different, but did not elaborate.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said, "The office will review Lee's case if President-elect Yoon requests," but added, "President Moon makes the final decision."

If Moon accepts Yoon's request to release Lee, he will be the only former president to be released on a pardon during a period of presidential regime change in the last 25 years. In 1997, then-President-elect Kim Dae-jung asked outgoing President Kim Young-sam to grant pardons to their predecessors, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.

In this undated photo carried on North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. Yonhap

Possible agenda items

During Wednesday's luncheon, Yoon and Moon are also anticipated to exchange their opinions regarding appointing the governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK).

BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol's term will expire on March 31. Moon has the authority to name the next central bank governor, because his presidential term will end on May 10.

The presidential transition committee has been demanding "a consultation" with Moon over naming the next BOK chief and other heads of public institutions, but Cheong Wa Dae has been showing a lukewarm response.

"I am not aware of the transition committee's demand for a consultation," the Cheong Wa Dae official said. "However, it is clear that the Moon government's term will last until May 9, and it is natural for the government to exercise its rights."

The official also said, "It is also natural for the presidential office to prepare appointing a new BOK governor, because the incumbent governor's term expires within Moon's presidency."

Along with the personnel issue, Yoon and Moon are expected to have talks on COVID-19 disaster relief for small business owners and North Korea's recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests.

On March 10, the United States announced that Pyongyang's missile launches on Feb. 27 and March 5 were aimed at testing a new ICBM system, and that intelligence authorities from Washington and Seoul anticipate the regime may conduct an ICBM test launch.

Korean daily Chosun Ilbo reported on Monday that National Security Director Suh Hoon told President-elect Yoon on Saturday that a test launch was imminent, and it would not be a surprise if the North fired it on Monday.

During his campaign, Yoon has taken a hardline approach on North Korea, stressing a strong Seoul-Washington military alliance as a deterrent against Pyongyang's threats.

On March 6, Yoon wrote on Facebook that "North Korea's provocation signals the failure of the Korean Peninsula peace process," and, "If Pyongyang launches an ICBM, it will face stronger pressure from the international community."

After winning the election on March 9, however, Yoon has refrained from making direct remarks on North Korea issues, perhaps noting the sensitivity of his remarks as the President-elect.

During a call with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday, Yoon expressed his concern over North Korea's recent missile tests, and Johnson condemned the tests, adding that he will call for a strong response from the U.N. Security Council, according to his spokeswoman.