Moon Jae-in Wins South Korea’s Presidential Election

 

In South Korea, Moon Jae-in, who wants a softer approach to North Korea, has won the country’s presidential election.

Moon told supporters, “I will be president for all South Koreans.” He declared victory after the two other major candidates conceded defeat.

The East Asian nation has been sharply divided as former president Park Geun-hye faces a trial on corruption¹ charges.

Moon won about 41 percent of the vote. Hong Joon-pyo came in second with 23 percent, and Ahn Cheol-soo received 21 percent.

In the South Korean election system, the candidate getting the most votes wins the presidency² even if it is not a majority.

Moon will be sworn-in on Wednesday as soon as the vote count becomes official.

The U.S. State Department in Washington said it is looking forward to continuing ‘close, constructive³, deep cooperation’ with South Korea’s new leader.

A lawmaker and presidential aide

Moon Jae-in is a former human rights lawyer. His parents fled North Korea during the Korean War.

Moon lost in a close vote to Park in the 2012 presidential election. As a member of the National Assembly, he led the main opposition⁴ party during the presidency of Park Geun-hye.

Moon gained popularity among supporters by proposing policies such as increasing government spending for jobs and education.

However, conservative voters question his policies on North Korea and criticize him as being weak on national security.

Moon has called for a two-track policy toward the North. He said he wants to support talks while at the same time continuing pressure on the North Korean government to change. Observers say his proposal is similar to the Sunshine Policy of Engagement started in the early 2000s by then-President Kim Dae-jung.

Attempts to build trust between the two Koreas ended with North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests early last year. South Korea answered with sanctions on the North and by closing the Kaesong industrial complex, the biggest economic link between the two sides.

South Korea also has increased military exercises with the United States in an effort to pressure the North to stop its weapons program.

During the presidential campaign, Moon criticized that policy, saying it resulted in faster nuclear and missile development by the North.

On Tuesday, Moon said the next South Korean president should work with the U.S. and China diplomatically. The goal would be to return North Korea to negotiations⁵ to solve the nuclear issue, he said.

Also, Moon will have to deal with the deployment⁶ of the U.S. THAAD missile defense⁷ system. U.S. President Donald Trump⁸ has said South Korea should pay some of the cost of the system worth more than $1 billion.

South Korea has said it already has met the conditions of the agreement.

Presidential election held early

The presidential election was held months earlier than planned this year because former president Park Geun-hye was removed from office.

Park has been caught up in a corruption scandal involving a long-time friend and millions of dollars in money from large Korean corporations.

After the news was first reported, hundreds of thousands of South Koreans took part in protests last fall, calling on her to resign.

Park’s removal from office hurt the country’s main conservative political party. The party split into two groups: one opposed to Park and the other that supports her.

Park is the daughter of former South Korean President Park Chung-hee.

Many older voters continue to support the national defense policies of the conservative parties. One such voter, Lee bong-ho said this.

“I’ve been supporting conservatives because I consider stability. Looking back at previous administrations, conservatives secured stability.”

Words in This Story

concede – v. to accept something

exit polls – n. surveys that ask people who have just voted which candidate they voted for

scandal – n. an incident that shocks people because it is morally or legally wrong

constructive – adj. helping⁹ to develop something

two-track – adj. to use two methods towards a goal which may be different from the other

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。