Moon Jae-in, 1953–, South Korean political leader, president of South Korea (2017–). The son of North Korean refugees, Moon studied law at Kyung Hee Univ. but was expelled twice for organizing demonstrations against President Park Chung Hee. After serving in the army and passing the bar, he graduated from the Judicial Research and Training Institute but was denied permission to become a judge. Pursuing a career as a human rights lawyer, he opened a law practice with Roh Moo Hyun. They were leaders of the prodemocracy movement of 1987, which led to the drawing up of a new South Korean constitution. Moon served as chief secretary to Roh when he was president (2003–8) and later was a member of the national assembly (2012–16). In 2012 he lost the presidential election to Park Geun-Hye, but after she was removed from office (Mar., 2017) he ran again and won with 41% of the vote. As president he has worked to ease tensions and increase contacts with the North.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Korean History: Biographies
