The More the Explanation, the Bigger the Fire: Controversy Over Moon's Pyeongsan Village Dinner

Pro-Pro Moon Lawmaker Builds Defense Around General Election Gathering
Timing of Democratic Party Leadership Controversy Adds Variable

Former President Moon Jae-in is said to have summoned close opposition party lawmakers to his residence in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, to discuss measures for the general election, sparking ongoing controversy. The lawmakers mentioned have collectively denied the claims as "fiction" and "fake news," but the more they explain, the more the controversy seems to grow.

This is because a meeting that could be politically misunderstood during a sensitive period is being prepared. With the 22nd general election just over eight months away in April next year, any meeting involving politicians inevitably draws attention.

In particular, within the Democratic Party of Korea, as the leadership crisis of Representative Lee Jae-myung, who is embroiled in judicial risks, continues, tensions between the pro-Lee faction and the anti-Lee faction are latent in many places. In this situation, lawmakers from the Blue House heading to Yangsan to meet former President Moon inevitably leads to controversy regarding the political background.

Former President Moon Jae-in is delivering a greeting at the "3rd Anniversary Event of Overcoming the Seomjin River Flood" held on the morning of the 8th in Yangjeong Village, Gurye-eup, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do. 2023.8.8 [Image source=Yonhap News]

Pro-Moon lawmakers cautioned against overinterpretation. Yoon Gun-young, a Democratic Party lawmaker who served as the head of the Blue House's National Situation Room during the Moon Jae-in administration, emphasized in an MBC radio interview regarding reports of a "Moon's presidential summons" that "a few lawmakers thought since summer has come and they haven't been able to see former President Moon for a while, they just wanted to pay a visit," stressing that the meeting had nothing to do with election measures.

Yoon said, "Why would we have such discussions in Pyeongsan (village)?" and added, "I can say with certainty that since the president's retirement, he has never called anyone to Pyeongsan Village to see them."

Yoon Young-chan, a former Blue House spokesperson for public communication, also dismissed the claims in an SBS radio interview, saying, "There is no reason to talk about such (election) matters with former President Moon. This is an interpretation with the intention of dragging former President Moon into the current political arena in some way." He added, "I cannot understand articles that write absurd fiction and cause misunderstandings as if something is happening."

However, some analyze that former President Moon, even after retirement, still wields strong influence within the opposition camp. Yoon Tae-gon, director of the agenda and strategy group The More, described former President Moon as the "major shareholder of the Democratic Party camp."

In CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' Yoon said, "If you compare the influence and network of Representative Lee Jae-myung with that of former President Moon Jae-in, the difference is like heaven and earth."

He noted that since former President Moon started his political career just before the 2012 general election and exerted strong influence over the nominations in the 2016 and 2020 general elections, "Looking at the current Democratic Party lawmakers, there are almost no one without ties to former President Moon."

In this situation, with Representative Lee Jae-myung facing a leadership crisis, discussions about former President Moon inevitably continue. Yoon diagnosed, "Rather than strengthening the centripetal force that unites the current leadership centered on Representative Lee Jae-myung, it acts to strengthen the centrifugal force that constantly shifts the focus outward."