Moon to hold a 100th-day press meeting on Aug. 17

President Moon Jae-in will hold a press conference next week to mark the 100th day since his inauguration, the Blue House said Friday.

According a presidential aide, Moon will hold the press conference at the Blue House on Thursday, the 100th day of his presidency. “It will be an opportunity for a candid conversation,” he said.

The session will be broadcast live and journalists from domestic and foreign media are invited to attend. Issues likely to be discussed include the escalating North Korean nuclear and missile crisis and Moon’s policies on the economy, the phasing-out of nuclear power and tax hikes.

After taking office May 10, Moon briefly addressed the press during the first weeks of his presidency when he announced key nominations. The upcoming media event will likely be a more lengthy session.

It is a tradition for Korean presidents to hold a press conference to mark the 100th day of their administrations. Presidents Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun all had live TV conferences. Lee Myung-bak also held a special press conference on June 19, 2008, shortly after the 100th day anniversary, amid fierce street protests over his decision to reopen the Korean market to U.S. beef imports.

Moon’s predecessor, Park Geun-hye, who was removed from the presidency in March after being impeached, was an exception. The Park Blue House called that tradition a political stunt.

Ahead of his 100th day as president, Moon’s approval rating remains high. According to the Gallup Korea’s regular survey for the second week of August, Moon’s performance was rated positively by 78 percent of the public. In another poll by Realmeter, he recorded a 71.7 percent approval rating.

Moon will also attend a Liberation Day ceremony on Tuesday ahead of the press conference. The Liberation Day speech by the president has long been used as an opportunity to announce important statements on North Korea and Japan issues.

Later in the month, Moon will check on key policy goals of the ministries for the rest of this year. According to presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun, Moon will receive briefings from 22 ministries and government offices from Aug. 22 to 31. It will be the first meetings between Moon and ranking officials of the ministries.

BY SER MYO-JA [ser.myoja@joongang.co.kr]