'Ahn Cheol-soo and Sim Sang-jung Stay Up All Night in "Condemning Bipartisan Debate" Protest... "Unconditionally Accept Multilateral Debate"'

Uncertainty Over Quantum Debate
Ahn Cheol-soo: "Starting with Multilateral Debate on February 3"
Sim Sang-jung: "Delegating Debate Conditions to Broadcasters"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Amid ongoing debates over the 'Lunar New Year TV debate,' Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, and Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate of the Justice Party, have continued their sit-in protests day after day, blocking one-on-one debates between ruling and opposition candidates.

Candidate Ahn continued his 'condemnation of bipartisan collusion debates' sit-in protest that began the previous night on the 31st. At 9 a.m. that day, he held an on-site inspection meeting at the tent in front of the National Assembly stairs, saying, "Still, the night passes, dawn comes, and the sun rises," and "Even in the minus 10 degrees cold, I spoke for a very long time to convey my earnestness."

He stated, "The two major parties truly lack qualifications," adding, "Even now, I hope they immediately withdraw the one-on-one debates and start proper debates from February 3, with the first debate, continuing as many debates as possible until March 9, so that the public can see which candidate is truly qualified, who can genuinely reform, who is moral, who understands the global trends well, who truly loves this country, and who understands that the presidency is a position with grave responsibility rather than honor. I hope many citizens recognize this and make their choice accordingly."

He further expressed his intention, saying, "Unless the two major parties officially withdraw, I will continue the sit-in protest here."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Sim, who began an overnight sit-in protest the previous afternoon, also held a presidential strategy committee meeting at the protest site in front of the National Assembly Members' Office Building that morning, stating, "The bipartisan vested interest collusion debate has become unclear due to infighting," and "I hope Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, apologize for causing controversy and declare their commitment to fair play."

He added, "There are only 37 days left until the presidential election. Not a single debate has taken place between the presidential candidates," and criticized, "The reason this election has become an unprecedentedly unfavorable competition is entirely the responsibility of the two candidates, Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-youl."

Sim declared, "All presidential candidates should unconditionally accept multi-candidate debates hosted by broadcasters," and "I, Sim Sang-jung, will delegate all debate conditions to the broadcasters without reservation."

Meanwhile, the 'one-on-one debate on the 31st,' tentatively agreed upon by the teams of candidates Lee and Yoon, remained uncertain as of that morning, as the working-level negotiation teams from both sides had not reached an agreement on debate topics and formats.

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