Democratic Party TV's First Debate, 'Lee Jae-myung' Focuses Attacks on Basic Income… Lee "Don't Nitpick My Words"

9 Democratic Party Presidential Primary Candidates Hold First TV Debate in 3 Days... Lee Jae-myung Focuses on 'Basic Income'

Jung Sye-kyun & Lee Nak-yeon "No Intention to Abolish Basic Income?" vs Lee Jae-myung "No Promises Made Yet, Can't Call Basic Income My No.1 Pledge"

Park Yong-jin "Doubt My Ears That It's Not No.1 Pledge... Can't Avoid Criticism of Flip-Flopping and Hypocrisy"
Choo Mi-ae "Good Proposal to Address Polarization" Supports

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 3rd, during the first TV debate of the Democratic Party presidential primary candidates, questions were concentrated on Lee Jae-myung, the Gyeonggi Province governor and the frontrunner in the polls, highlighting the challenges posed by the trailing candidates. From the very beginning, Lee's basic income policy became the target.

At the Democratic Party presidential primary candidates' debate broadcast live on KBS 1TV that day, former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun pointed at Lee, saying, "Your flagship pledge is basic income, but there are talks that the amount is too small and thus cost-ineffective." He added, "At first, you mentioned 1 million won, then reduced it to 500,000 won after being criticized for lacking funding plans, and recently you said it is not your number one pledge." He then directly asked, "Are you willing to scrap this pledge?"

Lee responded, "I have not made any pledges yet," adding, "Basic income is indeed a matter of great interest, but since I have not announced any pledges yet, it cannot be called my number one pledge. I said it would be introduced sequentially and step-by-step, and nothing has changed since then."

Regarding this, Representative Park Yong-jin said, "I was shocked when you said it was not your number one pledge at the last meeting," and criticized, "Until a month ago, you said you could distribute it without a 50 trillion won tax increase, so how can it not be your number one pledge? If you change your words and fail to gain policy trust, you cannot avoid being called a two-faced politician."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Additionally, Representative Park criticized, "You proposed punitive taxation on multi-homeowners to curb housing prices, but recently you said villas are essential goods," and asked, "Do you not think it is right to retract that statement since people without essential goods are heartbroken?"

Lee replied, "The distinction is whether villas are for residential use or for investment speculation. Houses in the countryside where mothers live need protection, but if they are for speculative investment, even if it is one house, gap investment should be regulated," and added, "I hope you do not nitpick my words."

Former party leader Lee Nak-yeon criticized Lee Jae-myung's remarks on 'discrimination against Yeongnam' and the controversy over the term 'quack.' Lee Nak-yeon said, "There was a mistake in approaching regional issues too harshly," and "It is also problematic that the explanation was false. Such a person cannot be a trustworthy leader."

He also questioned, "Regarding the primary election issues, you called those with different opinions 'quacks.' Is it appropriate to use such harsh expressions toward lawmakers?" About basic income, he asked, "'It is not the number one pledge, it is one among hundreds of pledges, I did not say it was a pledge.' Then why have you talked about it for many years? Shouldn't it be abolished?"

Lee responded, "I hope you focus not on whether it is number one or number two, but on whether it is something that should be done," and explained, "The 'quack' comment was not about the candidates but meant that the era of inflammatory politics is over, and the public's judgment level has risen, so providing accurate information is important."

On the other hand, former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae defended Lee's basic income, saying, "It is a good proposal to resolve polarization," and added, "If this is seen as reaching out to the struggling and desperate livelihood, then the issue is how to mature it. It has advantages such as promoting virtuous cycles in the domestic economy and revitalizing local economies," showing support for Lee's basic income policy unlike other candidates.

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