Crushing by-election defeat stymies Moon's reform, peace initiatives
Posted : 2021-04-08 16:40
Updated : 2021-04-08 16:55
President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with his aides and secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
With Wednesday's by-elections to pick new mayors for Seoul and Busan ending in a crushing defeat for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), observers say President Moon Jae-in is now likely to rapidly lose his grip on state affairs.
They said the elections will also affect Moon's peace initiative for the Korean Peninsula, as Pyongyang is anticipated to strengthen its perception of inter-Korean relations as subordinate to those it has with the U.S., especially as the South Korean leader increasingly becomes a lame duck president.