Yoon Seok-yeol: "Lee Jae-myung, who said since last year to debate, was just bluffing... even copied Facebook"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is meeting with the bereaved families of the civil servants killed in the West Sea at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 31st of last month.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, commented on the cancellation of the one-on-one debate with Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "Since last year, when they kept asking for a debate, I saw it as just posturing."

After visiting the Ganghwa Peace Observatory in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon on the 1st, Yoon told reporters, "When (Lee) boldly suggested having a debate, I accepted, but then he said not to bring any materials," he said.

He added, "The court's injunction decision was that 'it is inappropriate for a media company to invite and hold the debate in a media studio,' but the National Election Commission, which seems to be filled with pro-Democratic Party figures, absolutely prohibited live broadcasts or even recorded broadcasts. Isn't that obvious?" he criticized.

Regarding Lee's one-on-one debate with Kim Dong-yeon, the presidential candidate of the New Wave party, Yoon said, "They say it's about policy discussions, but these days, (Lee) copies everything from a one-line message on Facebook to the terms I use in my speeches."

He added, "I think the debate between Lee and Kim is not much different from a debate between me and Kim."

About the four-party debate scheduled for the 3rd, he said, "I have participated in multi-party debates 16 times, but due to time constraints, it is difficult to ask proper questions," but expressed his intention, saying, "I plan to conduct the debate focusing on the parts that the public is curious about regarding the presidential candidates."

Additionally, Yoon highlighted security values by mentioning the additional deployment of THAAD on the same day. He explained, "North Korea has already carried out seven missile provocations in January alone this year," and said, "Ultimately, I have considered extraordinary measures to protect the lives and safety of our people."

He emphasized, "By establishing a layered missile defense system including THAAD, I will firmly protect the safety of our people from North Korea's nuclear missile threats, covering the Seoul metropolitan area and northern Gyeonggi Province."

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