Lee: "People from People Power Party waiting for deaths"... Yoon: "Democrats using Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun for election business" (Summary)

Official Election Campaign's First Weekend 'Clash'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] On the first weekend of the official election campaign on the 19th, Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, escalated their attacks against each other.

At a campaign rally in Jeonju that day, Candidate Lee criticized the Democratic Party for unilaterally passing the supplementary budget bill at the National Assembly’s Budget and Accounts Special Committee, saying, "Look at the attitude of the People Power Party now; they are setting impossible conditions and waiting for people to die." He added, "Are they doing this because they think votes will come to them only when people die?"

Candidate Lee said, "Shouldn't we at least start with something, even if small? If it's insufficient, we can do more later," and added, "After March 9, I, Lee Jae-myung, will issue a special emergency financial order, not just a supplementary budget, to fully compensate for the losses incurred so far." He continued, "The losses accumulated over more than two years are enormous. Even at this moment, there are people considering extreme choices and leaving us," emphasizing, "It is right to take responsibility for the sacrifices made on our behalf."

Referring to Candidate Yoon, Lee said, "Is a prosecutorial dictatorship worse than military dictatorship about to begin?" and warned, "In the future, even if people hold candlelight vigils, report assemblies, and gather, they might be stigmatized and face judicial punishment. This could be a worrying day."

At a campaign rally in Hwaseong in the afternoon, Candidate Lee stated, "This is the first time in South Korean political history that a Gyeonggi Province governor has become a presidential candidate," and added, "Since Gyeonggi Province accounts for a quarter of South Korea’s population, if Gyeonggi decides, South Korea decides." He appealed, "Someone said the governorship of Gyeonggi Province is a graveyard for presidential ambitions, but it will not be a graveyard; it will be a flower path."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Candidate Yoon toured seven cities in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (PK) region, including Ulsan, Yangsan, Gimhae, Geoje, Tongyeong, Jinju, and Changwon, urging support. Throughout the day, he directly attacked the current administration and Candidate Lee, saying, "They share outdated leftist revolutionary theories from 50 years ago, what can be called a 'business community'." He also criticized the current administration’s policies across various sectors such as labor, national defense, and nuclear power, while focusing on the allegations surrounding Lee’s Daejang-dong development scandal.

At a rally in Ulsan that day, Candidate Yoon said, "Ulsan is far away, but just look at Daejang-dong. Doesn’t that rotten smell reach here?" He added, "Kim Man-bae wouldn’t have taken it all alone. There are many accomplices. We must expel these people, the core figures of the Democratic Party, from Korean politics."

Regarding the government’s COVID-19 response, Candidate Yoon accused it of being a 'pro-China regime,' stating, "The Democratic Party regime boasted about 'K-quarantine' as if the public’s social distancing and cooperation were their achievements, and they failed to establish proper medical facilities and systems even against the Omicron variant."

At Gimhae in Gyeongnam, where the late former President Roh Moo-hyun’s tomb is located, Candidate Yoon targeted Candidate Lee and the Democratic Party, saying, "Don’t believe that they are selling Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-jung. How can anyone use such figures for election business?" He continued, "Is the Democratic Party really the party that inherits the spirit of Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun? Who ruined the Democratic Party regime over the past five years? It is the main actors of the Democratic Party led by Lee Jae-myung." He concluded, "If the Democratic Party had even one percent of Kim Dae-jung’s philosophy and Roh Moo-hyun’s principles, could they have normalized such arrogance and corruption?"

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