Who’s afraid of being forgotten?

Moon Jae-in must not leave a poor precedent as a retired president endlessly meddling in politics.

Koh Hyun-kohnThe author is the executive editor of the JoongAng Ilbo. Former president Moon Jae-in has been drawing too much spotlight lately. Laid-back and homely in his gray-bearded post-retirement style, Moon looked comfortable living a rural life back home. But he was conspicuously visible. The former president paid visits to the 4.3 Peace Park in Jeju and the 5.18 Memorial Park in Gwangju.

Given his political statements, Moon’s visits were hardly meant to be quiet. “It is appalling to hear derogatory remarks about the April 3 (uprising in 1948),” the former president said as he stopped in Jeju. In Gwangju, he stressed that politicians must work harder to include the “spirit of the May 18 Democracy Movement” in the preamble to the Constitution. The former president said he wanted to be “forgotten” after retirement. But he is doing exactly the opposite. Few retired presidents — except for Donald Trump in the U.S. — would release political messages at every crisis.

Last month, Moon opened a small bookstore near his residence in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang. This month, a documentary film entitled “This is the president” was released. He seems to be readying to return to the political stage. He said he had opened the bookstore for local residents. But the bookstore serves as a political shrine for Moon loyalists, including lawmakers from the Democratic Party (DP). DP Chair Lee Jae-myung was no exception. The former president told him that “dialogue is the duty of a politician,” indirectly criticizing conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol for failing to reach out to the opposition. But Moon should have saved such advice as he was notoriously incommunicative with his opponents. It would have been even better if he had shared more worldly wisdom as a retired president.

The bookstore has been boisterous since its opening early May. It came under fire for recruiting volunteers to work in the store without pay. The shop later withdrew the plan. But Moon kept mum just like he did during his presidency — choosing silence over explanations when the mood turns against him. The bookstore was registered under the former president’s name, not a foundation’s as Moon promised. The bookstore is apparently operated for profit. If his opponents point it out repeatedly, he may react by saying, “Enough is enough. That sounds insulting to me.”

Former president Moon Jae-in, right, poses with Democratic Party (DP) Chair Lee Jae-myung who visited a “community bookstore” opened by the former president in Pyeongsan Village, South Gyeongsang, May 10. The bookstore has become a political shrine for DP lawmakers and Moon’s supporters. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

The documentary film is another source of controversy. Surprisingly, the former president was behind the filmmaking after expressing a wish to be “forgotten.” Did he really want to be forgotten? In the movie, Moon laments at “the overnight collapse of his achievements of five years.” (That comment was deleted in the editing process.) After seeing the film, his former spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom promised to make Moon “a successful” president. How can a retired president become a successful president? The film was a failure. It attracted only 100,000 viewers for the first two weeks. (His former boss and late president Roh Moo-hyun’s documentary film titled “Our president” drew 1.85 million.) Reviews are poles apart. After the film only worsened the divide, the public feels uneasier than before.

In February, Moon commented on former justice minister Cho Kuk’s book. “It is a pity to reconfirm the capabilities of the author,” he wrote on Facebook, just a week after Cho was sentenced to two years in jail in the first trial on his involvement in the fraudulent college admissions of his children. That was an ill-timed — and inappropriate — comment. Moon could think he is free to say what he wishes. But a comment from a former president itself is political. If Moon really felt sorry for Cho, he could have conveyed that feeling to Cho instead of sharing his feelings with others on social media. Moon only tried to justify himself for choosing — and standing by — the former justice minister in times of crisis.

No guideline is set on how retired presidents should live the rest of their life. Whether in Korea or other countries, they need not go into hiding, as they can put their valuable experience to good use. They could live an entirely new life. Former president Kim Dae-jung went abroad, meeting famous contemporaries like Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright. Former president Roh Moo-hyun devoted himself to greenery, eco-friendly rice farming and stream revival. In the U.S., Jimmy Carter set a good example. His post-retirement missions included volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, which took him to poor countries to build thousands of homes, and also mediation in conflict zones. From an incompetent president during his presidency, Carter reinvented himself as a respected statesman. He earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. George W. Bush enjoyed greater popularity as a painter than as a president. British prime minister Winston Churchill also indulged himself with painting after retirement. All of them kept their distance with politics. They were never mired in controversy after retirement.

Sadly, Moon does not wish to retire. After reaching the peak of the mountain, he does not want to come down. His visits to democracy movement memorial parks, running a bookstore, making a film and engaging in social media activities all keep him politically active. He complains he is being beckoned by real politics — or the governing People Power Party — against his will. The former president may think that attack is the best defense. Chairing his last cabinet meeting in May 2022, Moon said, “The incoming government would have to compare its achievements to ours” as if cursing the new conservative government. The hostile rhetoric is designed to justify itself by demeaning the other party.

Moon’s self-indulgence may come from the same psyche. As he walked out of the Blue House in May last year, he asked supporters if he had been successful as a president. The crowd yelled back “Yes!” A person of modesty and dignity would have thanked them for supporting him despite his flaws while governing the country. But the former president inflated his achievements to excite his supporters. He had done enough to divide the country during his five-year term in office. He must not leave a poor precedent as a retired president endlessly meddling in politics.