Ahn Cheol-soo and Debate Cancellation Crisis... Geum Tae-seop Meets Na Kyung-won, "Opposition Must Unite" (Summary)

First TV Debate Practical Negotiations Fail
"Practical Negotiations Ongoing for Half a Month"

Na Kyung-won Side First Proposed to Geum Tae-seop
Geum: "Victim of Our Camp's Logic"

Na Kyung-won, the People Power Party's preliminary candidate for Seoul mayor, and Geum Tae-seop, an independent preliminary candidate, are walking along the Namsan Dulle-gil trail on the 14th, discussing current issues such as opposition unity. 2021.2.14 Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Hyunju Lee and Juni Park] The possibility of a TV debate between former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop and Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, both candidates in the Seoul mayoral by-election, being canceled has increased. Nevertheless, former lawmaker Geum met with former lawmaker Na Kyung-won on the same day and stated, "Opposition candidates must all unite."

Before meeting with former lawmaker Na, Geum held a Q&A session with reporters and said, "I had agreed to hold the debate twice and to have it before Lunar New Year as a concession, so I thought it would be smoothly arranged. However, since the practical negotiations have continued for over two weeks, I realistically thought tomorrow’s debate would be difficult. I sincerely apologize to the citizens of Seoul," he said.

He added, "I hope proper consultations will be made quickly so that the debate can take place and a beautiful primary election can be held. What we want to do and what we must show the citizens of Seoul is a debate, not practical negotiations," he said.

Immediately after, former lawmaker Geum and former lawmaker Na took a walk along the Namsan Dulle-gil trail. The meeting was arranged at Na’s suggestion. It is reported that the two candidates discussed topics related to integration and cooperation.

After the walk, when reporters asked former lawmaker Na about the background of contacting former lawmaker Geum, she replied, "Candidate Geum is the most rational and sensible. Until now, we were bound by the fact that we belonged to different parties, but now I think he is a partner with whom we can talk about new politics together," she said.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former lawmaker Geum said, "In a way, both candidate Na and I are the biggest victims of factional logic. We must be able to talk and debate without hostility and with open minds. Even when I was in the Democratic Party, I made many efforts to talk with politicians from other parties, including the People Power Party, and in that process, I often heard rational arguments from candidate Na," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the cancellation of the debate, the People’s Party held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, reiterating the call to resume practical discussions. Ahn Hye-jin, spokesperson for the People’s Party, said, "Since the Geum Tae-seop candidate’s side has publicly expressed hope for a proper debate as soon as possible, we urge them to immediately engage in the ongoing practical discussions on unification, which they are currently refusing. Also, since the selection of broadcasters and the format of the TV debate cannot be decided by one side’s unilateral claims or stubbornness, I believe both sides should quickly resume practical discussions to overcome their differences," she said.

However, since both sides share the intention to resume negotiations, even if the debate scheduled for the 15th is canceled, there is a high possibility that the schedule will be rearranged and practical negotiations will continue. After the briefing, spokesperson Ahn told reporters, "The Central Election Commission has sent a notification related to election law on February 10. According to the current notification, only one TV debate per candidate is allowed in the unification candidate negotiations. The selection of broadcasters must be done by mutual agreement, and it cannot be decided by one side’s claims alone. However, since we are almost being notified of this, this is the reason why practical disagreements have not been resolved," she explained.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.