"Lee Jae-myung Changing His Words, No Reason to Criticize Yoon" Park Yong-jin Faces Choo Mi-ae's "Excessive" Criticism

Park Yong-jin (left), a preliminary presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Choo Mi-ae, former Minister of Justice, are preparing for a joint TV debate at the JTBC studio in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 5th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae actively defended Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung by saying, "It is highly inappropriate to criticize our candidate," targeting Representative Park Yong-jin, who launched an offensive against Lee regarding 'basic income' during the Democratic Party presidential primary TV debate.

At the Democratic Party presidential primary TV debate jointly hosted by JTBC and MBN on the 5th, presidential candidates launched concentrated attacks on Governor Lee's basic income policy.

On that day, Representative Park pointed out Lee's changing stance on basic income, opening with, "In the previous debate, Candidate Lee said he never promised to implement basic income during his term. Do you still think so?"

He continued, "You even held an academic conference on basic income, but now you are backing away, saying it is not your number one pledge," raising the criticism level by saying, "If you change your words and fail to gain trust, you are criticized as a two-faced politician, an unstable politician. What our people hate most are lying politicians, politicians who change their words, and chameleon politicians."

He then added, "There is no need to criticize former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl for lacking policies," and pointed out, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon has never reversed his statements. But Governor Lee has reversed what he said, so the people have nothing to say."

Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun also criticized, saying, "Governor Lee did not make (basic income) a representative pledge, and he said it could be done over time, not necessarily within his term," adding, "But most people think this is Candidate Lee's main pledge. Isn't something wrong with that?"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential primary candidate and governor of Gyeonggi Province, is preparing for a joint TV debate at the JTBC studio in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 5th. Photo by Yonhap News

As the candidates' attacks on Governor Lee continued, former Minister Choo said, "It is excessive for Representative Park to bring up Yoon Seok-youl and say that Governor Lee is reversing his words. The biggest liar is Yoon Seok-youl," defending Lee.

Former Minister Choo said, "Candidate Yoon, as Prosecutor General, deceived the court by claiming he did not violate political neutrality, overturned the suspension ruling, and is acting politically on his own," adding, "While it is possible to criticize and point out policies, bringing up former Prosecutor General Yoon to criticize our candidate is highly inappropriate for moving forward as one team."

Regarding basic income, Governor Lee responded, "One way to restore fairness and demand and create a virtuous economic cycle is basic income paid through local currency, and this is something that must be done," adding, "However, since it requires a lot of finances and is a structural and fundamental issue, I said I would start with a long-term goal divided into short-, medium-, and long-term phases."

He continued, "If I become president, I will lay the foundation for basic income," adding, "It can be done in small amounts for all citizens, and there is a way to expand it nationwide from non-capital areas. However, it is not something that can be done in a short time."

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