With Park Geun-hye impeached and out of office, attention has shifted swiftly to South Korea’s next presidential election, which must be held by May 9, and front-runner Moon Jae-in.

Moon, a former human rights lawyer and chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, is known for his liberal views and opposition to key decisions made by the conservative government.

In a statement Friday, he welcomed the court’s decision to uphold a parliamentary vote to impeach Park and said that “South Korea will start anew.”

Nevertheless, there is rising concern that if Moon becomes president, he might upend all the deals that South Korea has struck with other countries, including the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system and two landmark deals with Japan -- on wartime sex slavery and intelligence sharing.

The 64-year-old has said he would reach out to North Korea’s volatile leader Kim Jong-un for talks and also called for the reopening of the inter-Korean Kaesong industrial park, signs that a Moon administration would pursue a North-friendly “Sunshine Policy.”

Engagement with the North runs counter to the hard-line policy maintained by conservatives over the past decade. It also goes against efforts by the United Nations to toughen sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

If Moon gets tough on Japan, it would destroy the goodwill the two sides have built and also their enhanced cooperation after the sex slavery deal was inked in late 2015, under pressure from their common security ally, the United States.

Analysts say Moon, a key aide to former President Roh Moo-hyun, may or may not follow through with his foreign policy views. Perhaps, like the late Roh, Moon will come to realize the importance of maintaining close ties with the US, said political scientist Kim Jae-chun of Sogang University.

“Roh had anti-American sentiments too, but after he became president, he realized there’s no other way than to rely on the security alliance with America. Moon will also realize that the alliance is the cornerstone of South Korea’s foreign policy and security,” he added.

Moon, who lost to Park in the 2012 election, has been the most favored presidential hopeful in the past few months.

The latest Realmeter survey shows that he has support of 36.1 percent, more than 20 points ahead of his nearest rivals -- acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn, Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung and South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung.

Moon supporters are largely young liberals. He needs to win over older conservatives, who would balk at his North-friendly stance.

Seoul National University’s law professor Lee Jae-min said Moon’s popularity stems largely from public anger over Park’s scandal.

“Now that Park is gone, the real question for Moon is, is he ready to lead the country?”

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By Chang May Choon

Chang May Choon is South Korea correspondent of the Straits Times published in Singapore. -- Ed.

(Asia News Network)