'30 Minutes Before TV Debate' Lee Jun-seok Boycott.. Opposition "Democratic Party's Legislative Push" vs Ruling Party "Promise to the People" Responsibility Dispute

Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (right), and Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party (left), are greeting each other at the funeral ceremony for General Hong Beom-do's remains held at the National Daejeon National Cemetery on the morning of the 18th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, expressed regret while shifting responsibility to each other for the failure of the TV debate on the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act.

Both leaders were scheduled to appear on MBC's '100-Minute Debate' at 10:35 p.m. on the 30th for an unlimited debate on the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act, but the debate was canceled when Lee boycotted the appearance 30 minutes before the broadcast. MBC replaced '100-Minute Debate' with a special episode of the entertainment program 'The Guys Who Cross the Line Returns.'

The Democratic Party held Lee responsible for the failure of '100-Minute Debate.' Lee So-young, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "The '100-Minute Debate' on the Media Arbitration Act between the two party leaders could not proceed due to Lee's unilateral notice of absence," adding, "The TV debate between the two party leaders is not merely an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties but a promise between broadcasting companies and, ultimately, a promise to the public and viewers. It is very regrettable that the promise to the public was broken and the debate was missed in connection with the bill's submission."

She continued, "If there were differences of opinion on the Media Arbitration Act, this would have been an opportunity to explain the issues to the public and persuade them, and for the public to understand the points in detail. It is very regrettable that it was canceled 30 minutes before the broadcast."

On the other hand, the People Power Party countered that the debate was canceled due to the Democratic Party's unilateral legislative push. Heo Eun-ah, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, said, "The purpose of the leaders' appearance was to achieve social compromise through public debate, but it was canceled due to the Democratic Party's legislative push and unilateral action on the Media Gag Law," adding, "We are willing to participate in a TV debate between the leaders at any time through bipartisan consultation at an appropriate time in the future."

Heo also added, "The leaders' meeting between the ruling and opposition parties was held until just before the debate time, making participation impossible."

Earlier, Lee had warned that the debate could be canceled if the Democratic Party pushed the legislation. At an emergency party briefing held at the National Assembly that afternoon, he said, "The prerequisite for a debate with Leader Song is the assurance that the Democratic Party will not push the legislation of the Media Arbitration Act by unreasonable means," adding, "If one side is preparing to push the legislation while saying 'we will talk' and 'we will debate,' it is not a sincere attitude."

Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties met four times on the 30th to discuss whether to submit the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act to the plenary session but failed to reach an agreement, resulting in the failure to submit the bill to the plenary session. The floor leaders of both parties are scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m. on the 31st to discuss the submission of the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act.

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