Second Presidential Candidate TV Debate on the 8th Canceled... People Power Party Raises Host Bias Issue (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The '2nd TV Debate' scheduled for the 8th between the four presidential candidates from the ruling and opposition parties has been canceled due to a failure to reach an agreement.

The presidential candidates from the Democratic Party, Yoon Seok-yeol of the People Power Party, Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, and Shim Sang-jung of the Justice Party held a working-level meeting regarding the TV debate on the afternoon of the 5th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul.

During the discussions, the People Power Party raised concerns about bias from the Korea Journalists Association, which is organizing the debate, and JTBC, which is responsible for the live broadcast. The People Power Party stated that the joint debate inviting the four candidates, hosted by the Journalists Association and organized by a specific broadcaster, does not guarantee the fairness that is fundamental to the debate, leading to the cancellation.

The People Power Party requested changing the format to be hosted by the four comprehensive programming channels (Jongpyeon), but the Democratic Party, People’s Party, and Justice Party opposed this, resulting in the failure to hold the TV debate on the 8th.

The People Power Party said, "We request that this debate be held in the same format as the joint debate on February 3rd, which was hosted by the three major terrestrial broadcasters, by having the four comprehensive programming channels jointly host it." They added, "Regarding the debate’s proceedings, we ask that the agenda, moderators, and format be decided with the agreement of the four participating parties to ensure the fairness of the debate."

They further stated, "We publicly request all candidates, the Journalists Association, and the four comprehensive programming channels to reconsider this request."

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