President Moon Jae-in’s speech was more direct and sincere. In the second part of JTBC’s special broadcast ‘Conversation – President Moon Jae-in’s 5 years’, President Moon freely revealed his heart for 80 minutes.
■ Office relocation, abolition of the leisure department, criticism of the preemptive strike theory… “Promotion of this type of work is really dangerous”
President Moon gave a straightforward evaluation of the various policies of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol. First of all, he expressed a negative position about the relocation of the office, saying, “I do not think it is appropriate.” “I think it’s really dangerous to pursue this kind of work in the period of regime change, when our security crisis is at its height right now,” he said. However, he expressed his candid feelings, saying, “As the new government is pursuing it as if it were the first national task, we had to cooperate as far as possible in the line of minimizing the vacuum in state affairs or security.”
President-elect Yoon’s promise to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was also expressed to the effect that he lacked understanding of the government organization. In addition, she added, “As someone who has run a government, there is a reason why a government organization is necessary, but if you say that you will abolish the Ministry of Leisure without knowing it well, it is an obligation to say that it is a bit of a misnomer.” In other words, I do not think it is a conflict to express an opinion against the policies of President-elect Yoon.
In particular, he criticized the ‘North Korea preemptive strike theory’ argued by President-elect Yoon with a stronger tone. “It was not appropriate as a national leader,” he said. He added, “I think it is because I have no experience with North Korea, so I have to quickly return to the president’s mode like a president.”
■What is the secret of Dobodari’s private meeting? “Kim Jong-un is very concerned about how to resolve distrust in the US”
President Moon disclosed the aftermath of a private meeting held in April 2018 with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Panmunjom Pedestrian Bridge. President Moon said, “At that time, Chairman Kim was able to denuclearize as much as he could as long as it was safe, but the international community and the United States seem to have a lot of distrust about such sincerity. “There were a lot of questions about whether I could do it,” he said. He continued, “If the conditions are met, we will gradually denuclearize including Yongbyon.” However, in the end, they expressed regret, saying that they failed to reach an agreement on the roadmap for denuclearization.
■ Trump’s evaluation is ‘positive’… Kim Jong-un’s evaluation is ‘reserved’
Regarding former US President Trump, who was a partner in North Korea’s nuclear policy, President Moon gave a positive evaluation, saying, “It was very good in terms of relations with South Korea.” In the United States and the international community, there may be evaluations that he is a business man, but he said, “That attitude was very good for us.” On the other hand, the evaluation of Chairman Kim was withheld. In a situation where North Korea has clearly crossed the red line with successive provocations, such as the recent ICBM launch, it is “an inappropriate situation to evaluate”.
Last greetings “To be with the people. It’s a great honor for me.”
At the end of the interview, President Moon also revealed his plans after his retirement. He wants to live a ‘normal and calm’ life. He also expressed his hope that “I want to be remembered as a president who succeeded in taking off as a leading country while recovering from the crisis most successfully.” He then said, “It was a great honor for me to be with the people.”