‘Thrilling’ Lee Jae-myung vs Lee Nak-yeon

Lee Jae-myung "I will not go negative"
Lee Nak-yeon "Welcomes it" despite truce
Tension over Lee's resignation issue
Possibility of returning to full-scale conflict

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The tense standoff between Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and the leading candidate in the ruling party’s presidential primary, and Lee Nak-yeon, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and the runner-up in the polls, is currently in a nominal “ceasefire” state. The fierce confrontations that had been unfolding like a do-or-die battle had raised public concern with a strong sense of crisis that “both will lose if this continues.” Although both sides have signed the ceasefire agreement, localized skirmishes continue, making it difficult to predict when the conflict might escalate into a full-scale war again.

Even on the 9th, the day after Lee declared, “I will not make negative remarks about other candidates,” and Lee Nak-yeon responded with “I welcome that,” the two camps continued their verbal sparring over Lee Jae-myung’s resignation from the governorship and the details of policy pledges. Lee Nak-yeon directly criticized on a radio show, “People often use the term ‘Gyeonggi Provincial Government camp.’ It’s better not to listen to such talk.” He implied that it is inappropriate for Lee Jae-myung to retain his position while participating in the primary. Lee Nak-yeon questioned, “For example, 3.4 billion won was spent on promoting basic income. It is undesirable for such things to keep happening. Isn’t that outside the duties of Gyeonggi Province?” Lee Nak-yeon’s campaign policy chief, Representative Jung Tae-ho, also criticized Lee Jae-myung’s ‘basic housing’ pledge as “a pie-in-the-sky rosy blueprint.”

Lee Jae-myung’s camp, seemingly mindful of the declaration to halt negative campaigning, has been careful with their language but actively defended against the series of criticisms. Park Sung-joon, a spokesperson for the camp and a member of the National Assembly, rebutted on the radio, “We believe it is proper to maintain the governorship while running for election out of duty to the residents, and we will continue to uphold this consistent principle.” Regarding the criticism about funding for basic housing, he said, “No policy is perfect, but the basic series aims to address polarization and growth engines, and we believe it has successfully preempted the issue. We will supplement the policy and prepare alternatives.”

Meanwhile, Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party, met with Lee Nak-yeon at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, for dinner that afternoon. The purpose was to listen to opinions regarding the management of the presidential primary. At the party’s Supreme Council meeting that morning, Song said, “I will share this intention during dinner with Candidate Lee. I will continue to spread the party’s policy through meetings with major candidates.” He expressed his “full support” for the candidates’ participation in the cause of stopping negative campaigning.

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