Moon struck gold at Pyeongchang Olympics, but can he medal on the economy?
A U-turn over a free-trade agreement he once championed has critics of the South Korean president questioning both his loyalty to the US and his ability to deliver a more equitable economy
Moon’s comment on the free-trade agreement startled and confused many, as he has long been a staunch defender of the deal. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September, for example, he met business leaders and investors, urging them to support it. But on Monday, he told aides to file a formal complaint with the World Trade Organisation against what he called Washington’s “unfair trade protectionist measures”. After the meeting, an official told reporters Moon considered the deal unfair, and that he had felt that way for some time. The complaint was filed at the WTO the following day.
Critics see the reversal by Moon as further evidence of his unreliability and antagonism towards the US and Japan. After opposing the deployment of a US anti-ballistic missile system and the December 2015 “comfort women” deal with Tokyo, Moon announced both would ultimately remain in place. It’s moments such as these that have led many observers, including Michael Breen, author of The New Koreans: The Story of a Nation, to lose faith in Moon.
“There are some disturbing dark clouds,” Breen said. “One is a failure to think through positions before adopting them. This leads him to flip-flop.”
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But while Moon may shift on specifics, he has been decidedly consistent when it comes to broad strokes. In a January interview with CNN, he laid out his presidential aspirations. “The president who achieved a true democracy,” he said. “The president who built a peaceful relationship between the North and the South. The president who achieved a more equal and fair economy. That’s how I want to be remembered.”
