Moon Jae-in, born on January 24, 1953 (71 years old) in South Korea, was president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022, being the highest position he held in politics, with a past in other roles before reaching the presidency. However, his political journey began in 2012, after having been a human rights lawyer.
What was Jae-in’s life like before politics?
At 19 years old, after finishing high school, he entered the Law program at Kyung Hee University. The name Moon Jae-in began to gain relevance in 1975, when his political and social views did not align with the government of that year, and he carried out public protests and demonstrations.
After being expelled and released from prison for that reason, he was drafted into military service, took part in an operation, and left with the rank of sergeant. This allowed him to return to his routine and restart his law studies. After finishing his student life, he could not work as a judge due to his clear opposition to the government in power.
His life took a 180° turn when he met Roh Moo Hyun, a former president of South Korea who entered the political sphere from the opposition side—the one Jae-in had chosen to defend. This alliance began to grow, and Jae-in adopted the role of lawyer with the politician and focused on defending human rights, with emphasis on students and social activists.
After Roh’s rise in the political field and his election as a member of the National Assembly, Moon began to shape himself as a low-profile political activist. Roh was already part of South Korean politics, and Jae-in had been selected as his legal advisor for the campaign, as well as his right-hand man and collaborator. For these reasons, Jae-in was already positioned as someone familiar with the political world.
From 2003 to 2008, Roh held the presidency of South Korea, and from then on, Jae-in assumed various positions during his administration. In the first three years, he was secretary on different occasions: Civil Affairs twice and then Civil Society. In the last stage, Jae-in was his chief secretary, a very high and important role in the presidency.
However, several setbacks that Roh suffered in the last years of his presidency altered all the plans. At first, Jae-in had taken on a moralist role and defended the former president, until in 2008, when he had already decided to leave politics, several accusations against Roh and an intense police investigation led to his suicide. This caused a total rise in Jae-in’s public image, as he took charge of Roh’s funeral and made a strong impression on public opinion due to his willingness.
Rise in politics
After expressing his support for other parties, it was only a matter of time before Moon Jae-in ran as a presidential candidate. On April 11, 2012, Jae-in had his first political victory, winning the legislative elections in his district. Months later, he won the primaries of the Democratic Party of South Korea. However, at the end of the year, he lost the presidential election by four points.
The same process happened in 2017, when he again won the primaries without problems until he finally reached the presidency. With 40% of the votes, he took the most important position in South Korean politics until May 9, 2022. Among his many actions, summit meetings with his North Korean and United States counterparts stand out.