No Debate at the People Power Party Vision Presentation... Hong: "Elementary School Talent Show Level" Lee: "Cannot Hide Ignorance"

The Hard-to-Host People Power Party Vision Presentation Receives Harsh Criticism from Both Ruling and Opposition Parties Due to Lack of Debate

On the afternoon of the 25th, presidential primary candidates are taking a commemorative photo at the People’s Promise Vision Presentation held at the People Power Party Central Office in Yeouido, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] The People Power Party, which experienced internal conflict over whether to hold a primary debate, changed the primary method to a vision presentation and held the event, but the exclusion of debates where candidates could express their personal opinions drew harsh criticism from both ruling and opposition parties.

The People Power Party held a vision presentation at its Yeouido headquarters in Seoul on the 25th. A total of 12 candidates attended the vision presentation, each presenting for 7 minutes. Originally, Lee Jun-seok, the party leader of the People Power Party, had planned to hold two debates on the 18th and 25th, but these were canceled due to opposition from Yoon Seok-yeol’s campaign and others. The Yoon Seok-yeol presidential pre-candidate side refused the debates, claiming that the Primary Preparation Committee (Gyeongjunwi) was doing things not stipulated in the party constitution and regulations. In response, the Gyeongjunwi proposed a mediation plan to replace the debate with a vision presentation on the 25th, which candidate Yoon accepted.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential pre-candidate of the People Power Party, is making a presentation at the "National Promise Vision Presentation" held at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul on the 25th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Candidate Yoon opened by declaring, "I will declare war on poverty." He emphasized, "The first thing the state must do is to restore the lives of ordinary and vulnerable people, devastated by COVID-19, to their pre-pandemic state."

He continued with criticism of the Moon Jae-in administration. He said, "In the Yoon Seok-yeol government, there will be no Cho Kuk, no Druking, no Kim Kyung-soo, and no Choo Mi-ae." He added, "I believe the reason the people called me into politics is to end the old politics that divide the people with ideology and factional logic and to create a country where the people are the true owners." He raised his voice, saying, "I will ensure that political power never again exerts pressure on judicial institutions to cover up illegal acts and corruption."

In response, the camp of Choo Mi-ae, former Minister of Justice and a Democratic Party presidential pre-candidate, fired back on the same day, saying, "The Yoon Seok-yeol government will never be established on Korean soil, now, in the future, or ever."

Choo Mi-ae’s camp pointed out in a statement that Yoon was "merely boasting low self-esteem and excessive paranoia of victimization, revealing delusions, after being the first Prosecutor General in Korea to receive a dishonorable disciplinary action for inappropriate meetings with media owners, surveillance of major trial courts, obstruction of various investigations, and interference with inspections."

They added, "Perhaps those who swagger around the People Power Party outwardly are actually the ones who appear in dreams every night," and said, "If the Yoon Seok-yeol government is formed, what should disappear are 'TV debates,' 'dori dori,' and 'jjeokbeol'." This seems to mock the conflict between Yoon’s camp and the People Power Party leadership over refusing debates and the controversial habits of candidate Yoon.

The camp of Lee Jae-myung, a Democratic Party presidential pre-candidate, also criticized candidate Yoon for refusing debates. Lee Jae-myung’s spokesperson Jeon Yong-gi said in a statement, "He avoided debates to hide his lack of philosophy, but his ignorance could not be hidden," adding, "Watching it was nothing but a sigh. (Candidate Yoon) is now destined to be discarded."

Hong Joon-pyo, a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party's presidential primary, is making a presentation at the 'National Promise Vision Presentation' held at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul on the 25th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Hong Joon-pyo, a People Power Party presidential pre-candidate who participated in the vision presentation, also left harsh comments about the event. Right after the vision presentation, Hong told reporters, "It feels like an elementary school recital." This appears to express dissatisfaction with the sudden change of the primary method to a presentation without debates where candidates could express their personal opinions, due to opposition from Yoon’s camp.

Hong also questioned Yoon’s statement about "party unity," asking, "Did he talk about that? Who caused the conflict?"

Meanwhile, Lee Jun-seok, party leader, and Han Ki-ho, vice chairman of the Primary Preparation Committee, attended the People Power Party vision presentation that day. Lee said, "I ask the candidates present today to do their best to deliver excellent policy views, even on behalf of Representative Yoon Hee-sook." However, some lawmakers were seen leaving immediately after their presentations, drawing disapproval.

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