Lee Jae-myung "Will Discuss Without Being Bound by Formalities"... Lee Jun-seok "Is Daejang-dong Data Difficult?"

Lee Jun-seok "Debates Directly Related to Public Interests Must Be Accurate and Based on Data"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Kim Dong-yeon, the New Wave presidential candidate, are talking ahead of the bilateral policy debate held at CBS in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 2nd. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed his thoughts after finishing a debate with Kim Dong-yeon, the presidential candidate of the New Wave party, saying, "I will engage in debates without being bound by formalities in the future." In response, Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, fired a sharp remark, asking, "Is it inappropriate to bring out the Daejang-dong documents?"

On the 2nd, after finishing the policy debate with candidate Kim hosted by CBS, Lee posted on his Facebook, "This was the first debate between candidates in this presidential election, and I did my best to make it a high-level debate that could show a vision for the entire national administration, including the economic sector."

He continued, "It is unfortunate that the debate was not broadcast on TV, but I heard that hundreds of thousands of people watched the debate on YouTube. I truly feel how great the public's interest in the debate is," adding, "From now on, whether it is a four-person debate or one-on-one, I will actively participate in debates without being bound by formalities. This is because debates are the most effective tool to guarantee the public's right to know and to create a policy-focused election."

In response, Lee Jun-seok left a comment on the post, saying, "You say you are not bound by formalities, but is it inappropriate to bring out documents related to Daejang-dong?" This was a pointed remark referring to the planned one-on-one debate between Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and Lee, scheduled for the 31st of last month, which was canceled due to disagreements over bringing documents.

Regarding the one-on-one debate format, Yoon's side demanded bringing documents related to the Daejang-dong development project favoritism allegations, while Lee's side insisted on debating without any documents.

A comment left by Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, on the Facebook post of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate. / Photo by Candidate Lee's Facebook capture

Meanwhile, in an interview with JTBC Newsroom on the same day, Lee Jun-seok said, "The debate between candidate Lee and candidate Yoon is a debate directly connected to the interests of many citizens, and it should be a debate that helps the public's judgment based on materials rather than just rhetoric," reiterating the importance of 'bringing documents.'

He added, "What we requested this time was naturally to have an accurate debate based on materials regarding various issues, including the Daejang-dong allegations, so I am really curious why they would refuse that," and "For substantive debates in the future, such materials will likely be necessary."

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