Why South Korea’s outgoing president is less unpopular than most

JUDGED AGAINST his own high standards Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s outgoing president, is a failure. He took office in May 2017 in a snap election after Park Geun-hye, his predecessor, had been jailed for corruption and abuse of power. There had been months of protests against Ms Park and the discredited political class; Mr Moon campaigned on a platform of social, political and economic renewal. He promised to end the cosy links between politics and big business and create an egalitarian economy. He would move the president’s office from the leafy outskirts to central Seoul, be in constant dialogue with citizens and end self-dealing and partisan strife. Moreover, he would bring an era of peace to the Korean peninsula by making overtures to Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s dictator.

With just over two months left of Mr Moon’s single five-year term, none of this has come to pass. The president remains ensconced in his palace in Seoul’s northern hills. He has pardoned Ms Park and paroled Lee Jae-yong, the heir of the Samsung empire, from whom she accepted bribes. Other leaders of conglomerates have been reassured of their firms’ central place in the economy. Ordinary citizens are struggling with unaffordable housing and a continuing shortage of jobs for the young. Partisan squabbling and mudslinging endure; indeed, they dominate the campaign to...