Won Hee-ryong "Has Yoon Seok-yeol ever experienced poverty?"... Yoon Seok-yeol "I felt it growing up around me"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The issue of ‘poverty’ became a hot topic during the People Power Party’s presidential candidate primary broadcast debate. Former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong challenged former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, asking if he truly understands ‘poverty.’

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 11th, former Governor Won brought up a photo showing former Prosecutor General Yoon and Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung in their school uniforms as children, stating, "I believe that having a philosophy about poverty is important to become the president of a country." He added, "A leader’s philosophy should be able to understand the poor, those who have overcome poverty, and even those who harbor resentment toward society out of a desire for revenge due to poverty." He then asked former Prosecutor General Yoon, "Have you ever experienced being poor in your life?"

In response, former Prosecutor General Yoon said, "My father was a teacher, so (we weren’t poor) but we didn’t live very well," and added, "When I was growing up, the country was struggling, and there were poor people everywhere, including at school and around town."

When former Governor Won asked, "Have you ever shared a livelihood with poor people?" former Prosecutor General Yoon explained, "When we were growing up, poverty was normalized around us, so I always saw, felt, and grew up with it."

Even after the debate moved on to a leadership discussion led by former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, the issue of poverty continued to be a topic.

Former lawmaker Yoo said, "I don’t think a political leader must be poor to advocate for the poor," and added, "Among conservative politicians, I have worked harder than anyone else for a warm conservatism and a warm community." He continued, "For conservatism to change, solutions to poverty and destitution must be presented."

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