President Moon Jae-in continues to have unprecedented support from the public, but concerns are rising that the new administration may be taking on a tinge of self-righteousness and unilateralism.

Moon will mark his first 100 days in office Thursday. His first 14 weeks have been marked by drastic changes from the previous two conservative administrations. He has been quick to put into motion a number of his pledges including plans to reduce reliance on nuclear power, raise the minimum wage, and offer more welfare and job security. Moon has also taken steps to review and redress the alleged wrongdoings of government officials and agencies during previous administrations.

For the public, the most noticeable changes came from Moon’s approachable mannerisms and his focus on keeping the people informed on government affairs. 

In stark contrast to ousted President Park Geun-hye, Moon often approaches members of the public on official and unofficial outings. In his first weeks in office in particular, the new state chief’s humble, down-to-earth lifestyle grabbed a lot of public attention, such as him eating at Cheong Wa Dae‘s cafeteria and posing freely with supporters for photos wherever he goes.

Moon’s approach to the media is also very different from his predecessor. During her term, Park maintained distance from the media, even on official press conferences her aides are said to have carefully organized the questions beforehand.

Moon, on the other hand, kicked off his term pledging to personally address the public on important matters, and promised to keep the public informed on the progress of his administration’s main project.

In announcing Kim Yi-soo for the post of the Constitutional Court on May 19, Moon personally took to the podium and even asked for questions from members of the media, a shocking move compared to Park.

As he promised, Moon has also increased the presence of women in high-level government posts. Women were selected for a number of key posts including that of Minister of Environment, and Minister of Veterans and Patriots Affairs.

Civic society’s representation in government has also grown, with people from non-governmental organizations and institutions holding about 15 percent of presidential aides and government officials of vice-ministers or higher positions.

On the whole, Moon and his policies have been well received by the public, with Moon’s approval rating dwarfing those of his predecessors.

Despite the high approval rating, polls also suggest that more people consider at least some of Moon’s policies as being unilateral.

In the most recent poll conducted by Gallup Korea, 14 percent of the respondents negatively assessed Moon’s performance, with unilateralism named as the most common reason, though his approval rating of 78 percent continues to overshadow negative assessments.

Of those negatively assessing Moon’s performance, 13 percent chose dogmatism, unilateralism and biasedness as their reason. The figure is 7 percentage points higher than the previous week.

Changes and moves made by Moon criticized as being unilateral range from environmental issues and the minimum wage hike to those that concern national security.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party, which has laid one accusation after another on the administration, assesses Moon’s term so far as being a period of unilateral decisions and populist policies.

“Various social policies are not about preparing for the future of the nation but focused on (unsustainable) welfare,” Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hong Joon-pyo said Monday, accusing the administration of using the public as “test subjects” for policies whose effect have not been proven.

Hong also claims that Moon’s economic policies have prompted local firms to “escape overseas” and that South Korea’s industries could become hollowed out during “five years of leftist administration.”

One of the biggest sticking points for the opposition parties is Moon’s aim of addressing unfair conditions in society and delving into the possible wrongdoings of past governments -- what he collectively refers to as “deep rooted evils.”

Reforming the National Intelligence Service, which is accused of manipulating public sentiment in favor of conservatives, is a central part of related plans.

The main opposition condemns the related developments as “political revenge” and a ploy to embellish the achievements of past progressive administrations.

The thorny issue was further aggravated by Cheong Wa Dae’s controversial decision to reveal the content of a number of documents compiled by past administrations in July.

Last month, Cheong Wa Dae revealed that large quantities of documents from the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations were found at the presidential office. In revealing the information, Cheong Wa Dae disclosed that a number of documents concerned the Park administration’s interest in Samsung Group’s succession, which is central to Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and former President Park Geun-hye’s trials.

Moon has been attacked by both conservatives and liberals over developments surrounding the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system for different reasons.

Soon after taking office, Moon ordered a full environmental impact study on the THAAD site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, saying that protocol must be followed. However, after North Korea launched its most advanced missile to date on July 28, the government began the process of deploying four more THAAD launchers on a temporary basis.

Both the liberals and conservatives have called Moon’s decisions on the matter unilateral, the former regarding the temporary deployment and the latter the delays caused by the environmental study.

“It is regretful that the government made a unilateral decision without communicating with the residents of Seongju. (The Moon administration) must not repeat the faults of the past government,” the party said in a statement.

“As promised, (the government) should make a decision on the THAAD deployment after the environmental study and sufficient discussions have taken place.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)