Seoul needs a more constructive policy

BEIJING - The Republic of Korea will have a new president after Tuesday's election. Amid increasing tension on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul is more than ready for a positive leadership that underlines a return to the previous pro-peace policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Whoever the new leader will be, he or she should learn from the misjudgments of former president Park Geun-hye, whose term ended in disgrace over her corruption charges, and reflect on the decision to let in the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which has placed national security in jeopardy and soured relations with major neighbors.

It is a relief to see the promise of Moon Jae-in, the front-runner from the Democratic Party, to resume the "Sunshine Policy" of engagement with Pyongyang. The policy, pursued by his mentor and ex-president Roh Moo-hyun earlier this century, had once enabled the Seoul-Pyongyang rapprochement and secured regional peace and prosperity.