Moon Jae-in clinches S. Korean opposition party's presidential nomination

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Opposition Makes Pick in South Korea

By CHOE SANG-HUN

Published: September 16, 2012

SEOUL, South Korea — A former human rights lawyer and ally of former President Roh Moo-hyun was chosen on Sunday as the main opposition party’s candidate for the presidential election in December.

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Moon Jae-in after his election as the opposition party's presidential candidate in Seoul on Sunday.

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The candidate, Moon Jae-in, a lawmaker from the southeastern city of Pusan, won more than 56 percent of the votes cast in a series of regional primaries that ended Sunday, the opposition party, Democratic United, announced.

Mr. Moon, 59, was widely expected to enter negotiations with Ahn Cheol-soo, an entrepreneur turned university dean, to decide which of the two should represent the broader liberal camp in the election.

If Mr. Ahn, who does not belong to any party, decides to enter the race, it is unclear whether he will run as an independent or support Mr. Moon. To avoid splitting the liberal vote, he could also try to persuade Mr. Moon to step aside and seek his endorsement. He has said he will announce his plans this month.

Park Geun-hye, the daughter of Park Chung-hee, a former president who established a military dictatorship, is the presidential candidate of the conservative governing party. Ms. Park has had a lead in recent surveys, trailed by Mr. Ahn and Mr. Moon.

But Mr. Ahn, whose criticism of the existing political parties and big business made him a political star, would pose a strong challenge to Ms. Park if they competed one on one, according to the polls.

Mr. Moon has served in various political posts, including as Mr. Roh’s chief of staff. The two had been friends since the 1980s, when they worked together to defend students and labor activists who were persecuted under the military dictatorship.

Mr. Roh, who completed his five-year term in 2008, committed suicide in 2009 as prosecutors began investigating corruption accusations against his family. Mr. Roh’s allies considered the inquiry a political vendetta by the conservatives who assumed power in 2008.

Mr. Moon consolidated the opposition by emphasizing that he would finish the work that Mr. Roh had started: ending corrupt practices by the country’s rich and powerful, expanding welfare benefits, punishing what he called “politically motivated prosecutors,” protecting small businesses from the country’s family-controlled conglomerates and seeking peace with North Korea.

“Fairness and justice will be the base of my government,” Mr. Moon said in his acceptance speech on Sunday.

A version of this article appeared in print on September 17, 2012, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Opposition Makes Pick In South Korea.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/world/asia/moon-jae-in-chosen-as-opposition-presidential-candidate-in-south-korea.html?ref=world&_r=0

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By EVAN RAMSTAD

SEOUL—Moon Jae-in, a lawyer who was chief of staff to former President Roh Moo-hyun, won the presidential nomination of South Korea's main opposition party, firming up a race that voters will decide late this year.

Completing a sweep of a Democratic United Party primary contest that stretched for nearly a month, Mr. Moon won the final two votes, in Gyeonggi Province on Saturday and Seoul on Sunday, against three other candidates.

He will face Park Geun-hye, a conservative politician and former chairman of the ruling New Frontier Party, in the Dec. 19 election. A potential independent candidate, businessman and professor Ahn Chul-soo, is expected to announce this week whether he will run.

Reuters

Moon Jae-in speaking Sunday, after completing his sweep of the Democratic United Party's regional primaries; the podium reads 'regime change'

Mr. Ahn, who outpolls Mr. Moon in two-way matchups against Ms. Park, would be likely to split support among liberal voters, analysts say. But Mr. Moon's strong showing in the DUP primary process may discourage him from entering the race. Mr. Moon demonstrated some crossover appeal earlier this year by winning a seat the National Assembly in a traditionally conservative district in Busan.

Mr. Moon's victory in the final vote on Sunday gave him 56% support for the entire primary, eliminating the need for a run-off this week.

In a speech after the Seoul results were announced, Mr. Moon concentrated on economic issues and corruption and said his "people first" campaign slogan will become the "governing philosophy" of his administration.

The large conglomerates that dominate the country's business scene "will no longer be allowed to buy out politicians and government officials with their money," he said, vowing tougher penalties on "crimes by the privileged." South Korean courts have a long history of light sentences for conglomerate executives.

Mr. Moon also said he would return to Mr. Roh's policy of broad economic support for North Korea. But he framed even that policy in economic terms, saying peace with North Korea could become "a new growth engine."

"North-South economic coalition will facilitate development of our country to a per capita income level of $30,000 and a huge market represented by a population of 80 million," he said, referring to the combined population of the two Koreas.

Mr. Moon and Mr. Roh started a law firm together in Busan in the 1980s. And when Mr. Roh became president, Mr. Moon served in two presidential secretary jobs and as Mr. Roh's last chief of staff.

In his campaign speeches, however, Mr. Moon has recognized that Mr. Roh was unpopular when he left office. The party's candidate to succeed Mr. Roh got just 26% of the vote in the 2007 presidential election.

"As one who was at the center of government, one must humbly admit one's errors and limitations," he said in campaign speeches.

But Mr. Moon also points out that division in the liberal party, as well as in the unions and nongovernment groups that support it, has also been damaging. He urged the party to come together on Sunday and said his campaign would be a "melting pot" that welcomes those who backed his opponents in the primary.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443995604577655062132331458.html

Moon Jae-in clinches S. Korean opposition

 party's presidential nomination

English.news.cn   2012-09-16 15:41:39

Moon Jae-in (C) of South Korea's center-left main opposition Democratic United Party waves to his supporters after he was elected as presidential candidate of his party in Goyang, South Korea, Sept. 16, 2012. Moon Jae-in of South Korea's center-left main opposition Democratic United Party on Sunday won the party's nomination for its presidential candidate. (Xinhua/Park Jin hee)

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Moon Jae-in of South Korea's center- left main opposition Democratic United Party on Sunday won the party's nomination for its presidential candidate.

The first-term lawmaker clinched his 13th straight win in the Seoul primary after sweeping three-week-long regional primaries, earning a total of 56.52 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a run-off.

Former party leader Sohn Hak-kyu finished second with a total of 22.2 percent. Also-rans, former Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Du-kwan and former party chairman Chung Se-kyun, came in third and fourth, respectively.

"I will launch a new era of change," Moon said in his acceptance speech to loud cheers from supporters. "I will put people first -- this will be the administrative philosophy during my presidency."

The 59-year-old's pledges included job creation, welfare expansion and economic democratization -- the three big buzzwords even traditionally deficit-wary conservatives like to cite.

He was also determinedly dovish on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), offering to invite the DPRK leader to the presidential inauguration and propose inter-Korean talks within the first year of his presidency.

Moon, a human rights lawyer who went on to serve as a chief of staff to late President Roh Moo-hyun, won his first parliamentary seat in the conservative stronghold of Busan in April.

The soft-spoken liberal's reluctant entry into the local political scene was spurred by Roh's supporters who blame his 2009 suicide on what they call a politically motivated investigation initiated by Roh's conservative successor, Lee Myung-bak.

Standing in Moon's way is Park Geun-hye of the conservative ruling Saenuri Party, who has long led opinion polls for the crucial Dec. 19 presidential election. She is the daughter of former military strongman Park Chung-hee, whose 18-year authoritarian rule is still subject to partisan dispute.

Moon took a jab at both in his acceptance speech, accusing them of turning back the clock on democracy and attributing his decision to run for president to the remorse he felt for letting the conservatives come to power.

The biggest challenge before Moon faces off Park remains whether he can join forces with Ahn Cheol-soo, an entrepreneur- turned-professor popular among moderates and independents.

Ahn, who is expected to declare his presidential bid soon, can potentially steal Moon's thunder if he eventually decides to run, observers say.

Moon has publicly suggested a coalition government with Ahn, a political novice yet to be affiliated with a political party, a bid to consolidate their support bases.

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