Ruling and Opposition Presidential Candidates' First Televised Debate on the 21st... Direct Confrontation on 'Economy'

Four-Way Clash Over 'Economic Measures in the COVID Era' and 'Next Government's Economic Policy Direction'

On the 18th, posters for the 20th presidential election were put up on the streets of Ihwa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moohonam

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] On the 20th, a day before the first official TV debate for the 20th presidential election, the major candidates from both ruling and opposition parties minimized their schedules to prepare for the debate. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate who has been campaigning in Gyeonggi Province for two days, appealed for support by highlighting his achievements as governor, while Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate, did not hold any public events but mentioned the Ukraine crisis and argued that preparations must be made against potential provocations from North Korea.

The debate, held on the 21st at MBC in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, is organized by the National Election Commission and will focus on "Economic Measures in the COVID-19 Era" and "Economic Policy Directions of the Next Government." As the first official debate hosted by the National Election Commission after the official campaign began, political circles predict that this debate could become a decisive factor in the final stages of the election.

The format of the debate allows the candidate holding the initiative to designate another candidate for a 9-minute discussion on overall economic issues, increasing the likelihood of detailed scrutiny of each candidate’s economic pledges.

Candidate Lee is expected to emphasize his strengths in the real economy and reiterate the economic policies he implemented as governor. Previously, Lee proposed a stance to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and fully compensate small business owners and self-employed individuals through emergency supplementary budgets and the activation of emergency financial orders as part of a "contingency plan."

Candidate Yoon is anticipated to focus on questioning the funding and feasibility of economic pledges, concentrating on policy competition. In particular, he is expected to present strategies to break the frame set by Lee’s camp that he is "weak in economic matters."

Additionally, Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party is expected to emphasize reforming the unfair economic structure, while Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party will stress economic structural improvement, aiming to differentiate themselves from the major party candidates. On the day before the debate, Sim campaigned by greeting hikers on Gwanaksan Mountain and planned to move to Gangnam Station in the afternoon to repeatedly emphasize that he is the only candidate representing the homeless, irregular workers, and youth. Ahn, who resumed campaigning yesterday, started his campaign at Hongdae Entrance Station in Seoul.

Meanwhile, the debate invites candidates from parties that meet certain criteria, such as having at least five seats in the National Assembly or having received more than 3% of the vote in the previous election. Candidates who do not meet these criteria will hold a separate debate for two hours starting at 11 p.m. on the 22nd. The National Election Commission plans to hold the second and third debates on the 25th and the 2nd of next month, respectively, targeting the four major presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties.

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