[So Jongseop's Political Analysis] The Presidential Candidate Debate Has Changed!

The First Official Presidential Candidate Debate Hosted by the Central Election Commission: Four Candidates, Four Unique Perspectives
Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-youl's Fierce Clash, Ahn Cheol-soo's Sharpened Stance, and Sim Sang-jung's Changed Approach

Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea, Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Party, Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party, and Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party, the presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties, are posing ahead of the first debate hosted by the National Election Commission held on the 21st at MBC in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers.

It was literally a fierce battle. The keyword symbolizing the first TV debate hosted by the Central Election Commission on the 21st was ‘each for themselves.’ The atmosphere was distinctly different from past debates. The four candidates?Lee Jae-myung, Yoon Seok-yeol, Sim Sang-jung, and Ahn Cheol-soo?wielded their blades without defending their opponents. The attacks against candidate Yoon were particularly sharp. In contrast, Yoon’s strikes toward others were blunt.

Seemingly mindful of the need to boost his approval ratings amid the changed political environment, candidate Lee took an aggressive stance. He did not back down at all against Yoon’s attacks regarding the ‘Daejang-dong scandal.’ Instead, he twice displayed prepared panels, focusing on the parts related to Yoon in the ‘Kim Man-bae recording.’ This was read as a strategy to actively defend his weak points and exploit the political space created by the failure of opposition unification. Candidate Yoon mentioned suspicions about Lee’s spouse Kim Hye-kyung’s corporate card usage but mostly engaged in outboxing. He appeared more focused on avoiding mistakes than attacking. Although the situation was chaotic, the reality of ‘Yoon Seok-yeol leading and Lee Jae-myung needing to catch up’ was clearly reflected in the debate.

Attention was drawn to candidates Sim Sang-jung and Ahn Cheol-soo. Candidate Sim concentrated on attacking candidate Lee. Regarding real estate policies, she questioned, "Candidate Lee is following the alternatives proposed by the People Power Party. Are you legitimizing a regime change?" This was consistent with Sim’s recent intensification of criticism toward Lee. She is trying to boost her approval ratings by framing Lee Jae-myung, Yoon Seok-yeol, and Ahn Cheol-soo broadly as ‘conservative candidates’ and positioning herself as ‘the progressive Sim Sang-jung.’ Her strategy is to absorb progressive voters who support candidate Lee.

Candidate Ahn launched a focused offensive against candidate Yoon. His symbolic gesture of shaking his head during the debate stood out. He fiercely pressed Yoon, saying, "You cannot distinguish between platform companies and big data companies. It seems you lack sufficient consideration." This clearly expressed Ahn’s intention to win over voters who desire regime change after the failure of unification. Candidate Ahn became tougher, and candidate Sim changed. Political editor kumkang21@

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