Is the Debate on the 18th 'Undermining Yoon Seok-yeol'?… Kim Jae-won Says "Unfair from the Candidate's Perspective"

Kim Jae-won, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] As the leadership of the People Power Party and presidential candidates clash over whether to hold a preliminary primary debate, Kim Jae-won, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, criticized, saying, "From the candidates' perspective, they may feel it is unfair."

On the 11th, Kim, on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory,' commented on the primary procedures such as volunteer activities and debates decided by the Primary Preparation Committee, stating, "It is good to engage in such activities, but criticism has arisen that candidates did not participate."

He expressed that holding debates before the election management committee is launched and candidates are registered is unfair to the candidates. He pointed out, "We were told to prepare for the primary, but once preparation is complete, a report should be made quickly and approved by the Supreme Council," adding, "Joint debates or TV debates fall under the authority of the Election Management Committee according to party rules."

He continued, "Once the primary starts, I believe debates should be held at least 20 more times until the presidential election day," emphasizing, "There are ample opportunities for rigorous verification, so I don't understand why the Primary Preparation Committee is recklessly pushing this while candidates are opposing it."

However, the day before, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, drew a line on Facebook, saying, "I hope candidates refrain from making unreasonable remarks about the Primary Preparation Committee, which is delegated authority by the leadership to plan the primary excluding the primary rules, as they are considering fair management and attracting interest," and added, "The Election Management Committee is literally an organization that manages, not plans."

Some speculate that the reason the Primary Preparation Committee and party leadership are pushing for debates is to expose weaknesses of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. In response, Kim emphasized, "Yoon's camp probably thinks that way, but it is problematic because it raises doubts about fairness."

He further criticized, saying, "What good does that do for our party? We asked all external talents to join us, and they did, but if the intention right after joining is really to expose weaknesses, no matter how ruthless politics is, isn't that a bit too much?"

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