Outgoing President Moon Jae-in made big promises, but after five years in power, he has failed to deliver
President Moon Jae-in helped facilitate talks which resulted in groundbreaking summits between then-US president Donald Trump and Kim, but the efforts collapsed in 2019. (Credits: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
Seoul, South Korea: Peace with North Korea and a "fair and just" society in the South: outgoing President Moon Jae-in made big promises, but after five years in power, he has failed to deliver, analysts say.
Talks between Washington and Pyongyang that Moon brokered have collapsed, North Korea is test-firing long-range missiles again, and leader Kim Jong Un last week said he was strengthening his nuclear arsenal "at the fastest possible speed".
Domestically, Moon's key housing policy backfired, landmark anti-discrimination legislation never materialised, and top luminaries in his government and party became ensnared in sex and bribery scandals.
Public frustration with his administration is what galvanised a political opposition in disarray, analysts say—Moon will hand power on May 10 to Yoon Suk-yeol, whose conservatives he ousted from government five years ago.
"Moon's biggest legacy will be the election of Yoon as president," Gi-Wook Shin, a sociology professor at Stanford University, told AFP.