"Seems Impatient" vs "Sneak Away Quietly" Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-yeol Clash Over 'Debate Acceptance'

The Democratic Party reacts to Yoon's 'acceptance of debate' as "impatient and premature"
Opposition criticizes, "Boastful call for debate was just bluff"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, attended the '2022 Stock Market Festival' held on the 3rd in front of the Korea Exchange headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party are clashing over the presidential candidate debates. Earlier, the Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung's side criticized the People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-youl's acceptance of the debate, saying it seemed "impatient."

Candidate Yoon had previously shown a lukewarm response to additional debates beyond the three legally mandated ones, but recently changed his stance, stating, "In a democratic society, it is natural to participate in debates to receive the people's choice," and expressed his intention to actively engage.

In response to this position from Yoon's side, Kwon Hyuk-ki, the Deputy Director of Public Relations for the Democratic Party's election campaign committee, told reporters at the Yeouido party headquarters on the 6th, "While it is welcome that they have shifted to a stance of participating in debates, it seems somewhat hasty."

He added, "Saying 'Why don't the two candidates just meet and debate?' is premature. According to election law, specific organizations or individuals cannot host debate forums. Presidential candidate debates are only possible when jointly hosted by media companies," explaining, "Procedures involving associations co-hosting with media companies are necessary."

Regarding this, the People Power Party shot back, saying, "The bold attitude of wanting to debate has completely disappeared. They quietly backed out," targeting the Democratic Party.

Jang Soon-chil, the full-time deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party's election campaign headquarters, said in a statement on the 6th, "Candidate Yoon could no longer watch the mental damage the people suffered from Candidate Lee's continuous false allegations and reckless promises, and judged that the three legally mandated debates were insufficient for verification, thus suddenly declaring his participation in debates," adding, "(However) the response received was utterly absurd."

He criticized strongly, saying, "Avoiding debates by citing election law and debate formats is not just awkward but pathetic. Just admit it was all bluff and that you are afraid to debate," and "The Democratic Party campaign committee itself proved why Candidate Yoon said he could not debate Candidate Lee. We expected it, but we did not think it would be this bad."

He continued, "All of Candidate Lee's statements end with absurd sayings like 'I suggested ~, but they thought I meant ~,' proving this once again," and added, "Is he really the ruling party's presidential candidate? The new year has come, so I hope this behavior of mocking and tormenting the people stops now. It is disrespectful to the people."

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