Will Moon Bring Back Sunshine Policy in South Korea?

From day one, South Korea’s new President, Moon Jae-in, has shown he will be a different type of leader. He confirmed a campaign promise that he would consider visiting Pyongyang before Washington to tackle the North Korean nuclear issue, albeit only if the conditions were right. He has said he will not work from the palatial Blue House, the office and residence of previous presidents, and will instead keep his office in downtown Seoul.

A different sort of leadership is what South Korea voted for. After two conservative administrations, and with the second ending in the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye for her involvement in a corruption scandal, Moon won 41 percent of votes. In a field of five candidates and with second-place conservative candidate Hong Jun-pyo only gaining 24 percent of the vote, Moon won by a wide margin. His landslide victory demonstrates the electorate’s desire for a new direction guided by the liberal Democratic Party’s platform of wealth equality through economic reform, strengthening the social safety net, and engagement with North Korea.