SEOUL, South Korea: Selfies, coffee and a jacket were all that new South Korean President Moon Jae-in needed to powerfully project an image that he’s a down-to-earth leader.
South Korean internet users on Thursday shared photos of Moon waving off a presidential employee and taking off his own jacket at a luncheon. Images of Moon, without a jacket and holding a cup of coffee while cheerfully talking with his aides in the presidential garden, also generated a buzz.
Many see Moon’s manner as a refreshing break from his disgraced, jailed predecessor Park Geun-hye, whom critics saw as aloof and autocratic.
Moon began his first full day in office by shaking hands and taking selfies with supporters near his private Seoul home before heading to the presidential Blue House. Moon’s aides say he will commute from his home for the first few days as workers finish furnishing the Blue House residential space for him.
In a speech after he took the oath of office on Wednesday, Moon said he plans to eventually move out of the Blue House, which was seen as part of an attempt to be a more accessible leader. He instead plans to work at an office in nearby Gwanghwamun, near the square where millions took part in months of peaceful protests before Park was removed from office and arrested in March on corruption charges.
— AP
