He then left with his wife, Kim Jeong-sook, for a national cemetery in Seoul.Īfter bowing to honor the former presidents, independence fighters and war heroes at the cemetery, Moon wrote “A country worth being proud off a strong and reliable president!” in a visitor book. A short time later, Moon stepped out of his private home and received an emotional send-off from hundreds of residents, who hanged flowers on his neck and asked him to pose with his children. Lee Sun-jin, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, who briefed him on the military’s preparedness against North Korea.

Taking up his role as the new commander in chief, Moon received a call from Army Gen. He will be formally sworn in at noon, forgoing the usual two-month transition because he was chosen in a special election after the last elected office-holder was removed by a court and jailed on corruption charges.

Moon, whose victory capped one of the most turbulent political stretches in the nation’s recent history and set up its first liberal rule in a decade, assumed presidential duties after the National Election Commission officially declared him as winner. Hours after celebrating his election win with thousands of supporters in wet Seoul streets, new South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday was quickly thrown into the job of leading a nation deeply split over its future and faced with growing threats from North Korea and an uneasy alliance with the United States. Newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in greets his neighbors and supporters as he leaves his house in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 10, 2017.

Manhattan Moon by Jae