Ahn Cheol-soo on Yoon's Call for a 'One-on-One Debate': "Is This an Intent to Exclude Ahn Cheol-soo from the Lunar New Year Table?"

Yoon, who insists on a quantum debate, faces questions: "What exactly are the fairness and common sense you've been shouting about?"
"In the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, I am the most qualified"

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, criticized Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, for insisting on a one-on-one debate.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, directly criticized Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, who insists on a 'one-on-one TV debate' with Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, instead of a multi-candidate debate, saying, "Isn't it an intention to deliberately exclude Ahn Cheol-soo from the table during Seol (Lunar New Year) celebrations?"

On the morning of the 28th, Ahn appeared on BBS Radio’s 'Park Kyung-soo’s Morning Journal' and criticized, "The People Power Party has completely ignored public sentiment and court rulings, disregarded precedents, and shown an attitude of ruling over the law and the people."

Ahn pointed out the current situation, saying, "The court accepted the injunction request to ban the one-on-one TV debate, so the one-on-one debate has now been canceled. Legal justice has been realized according to public common sense. However, unexpectedly, the People Power Party again approached the Democratic Party saying, 'Let’s have a one-on-one debate,' and 'Let’s do it in a format other than TV.'"

He then targeted Yoon, saying, "The intention is to have only one of the two people chosen in a one-on-one contest, so that only the two of them are visible to the public," and added, "I want to ask what fairness and common sense, which have been shouted until now, really mean, and what exactly is so frightening."

Ahn expressed confidence in debates. When asked by the host about his opinion on the Justice Party’s proposal for a three-way debate among Lee Jae-myung, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Sim Sang-jung excluding Yoon, Ahn replied, "As long as Yoon’s side doesn’t keep running away, I am always ready to debate anytime, anywhere, whether it’s one-on-one, three-way, or four-way. I don’t care about the format."

Regarding the recent stagnation of his previously surging approval ratings, he said, "At the beginning of the year, the media described it as an unstoppable momentum. Now, I think it’s about consolidating the base, and there will be active reevaluation of Ahn Cheol-soo at the Seol table. After the Lunar New Year holiday, let’s properly compete together as a three-way race."

When asked what comes to mind when thinking of candidate Ahn Cheol-soo at the Seol table, he answered, "First of all, morality. And the risk related to family issues will be compared with other candidates."

Ahn mentioned the '20-year cycle theory' and confidently stated that he is "the presidential candidate who will take responsibility for the next 20 years." He explained, "Because former President Park Chung-hee implemented the five-year economic development plan, we were able to live well for 20 years during the 1980s and 1990s. Following that, former President Kim Dae-jung laid down the ultra-high-speed internet infrastructure and promoted ventures, allowing us to live well for another 20 years in the 2000s and 2010s."

He added, "The most important role of the next president is to create future sources of income and jobs in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This requires a proper understanding of science and technology and a global sense of the direction in which these things are heading. I am the most qualified for that."

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