Presidential Candidate TV Debate: "Trivial" VS "Basic Qualifications of Presidential Candidates," What Do You Think?

Repeated 'Ana, Morna' Debate in TV Debate Verifying Policy and Qualifications
"Isn't It to Shame?" VS "Necessary to Verify Presidential Candidates" Opinions Divided
Experts: "Intense Disputes Ahead of Presidential Election, Negativity Inevitable"

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.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] With 14 days remaining until the 20th presidential election, public interest in the ongoing TV debates is intense. While some believe that the debates should feature in-depth discussions as they are crucial opportunities to verify the policies and qualifications of the presidential candidates, others criticize that the debates have become repetitive, focusing on exposing the flaws of specific candidates and engaging in trivial arguments.

On the 21st, the first presidential candidate TV debate hosted by the National Election Commission was held at MBC in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. This was the third debate following the TV debates hosted by the three terrestrial broadcasters (KBS, MBC, SBS) on the 3rd and the TV debate hosted by the Korea Journalists Association and JTBC on the 11th. The topic was economic policy in the era of COVID-19 and the economic policy of the next government.

Public interest in the debate was high. According to Nielsen Korea, the combined viewership rating of the debate broadcast live for two hours from 8 p.m. on the 21st across nine channels?including the three terrestrial broadcasters (KBS, MBC, SBS), four comprehensive programming channels (MBN, JTBC, Channel A, TV Chosun), and two news-specialized channels (Yonhap News TV, YTN)?was 34.3%. This is lower than the combined rating of 39.0% for the first TV debate but higher than the 21.4% recorded for the second debate held on the 11th.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, is reviewing a script for filming at a broadcasting station in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 20th for a broadcast advertisement. On the same day, Candidate Yoon did not schedule any public events and focused on filming the broadcast advertisement and preparing for debates.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The presidential candidates engaged in sharp exchanges during the debate. Particularly, Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, came under focused attack. Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party candidate, questioned Yoon about national fiscal issues and the digital data economy.

Yoon responded, "Our Bank of Korea and fiscal authorities must manage inflation and housing mortgage loans carefully so that the public does not suffer. Once the COVID-19 situation passes, we need to quickly reduce discretionary spending to restore fiscal soundness," and "Building networks that allow 5G and data to move swiftly and be analyzed by AI algorithms gathered in the cloud is important." However, Ahn shook his head as if unconvinced and pointed out, "I think you missed the point."

Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party’s presidential candidate, also questioned Yoon, who had pledged to abolish the capital gains tax on stocks, asking, "Do you know why the capital gains tax was introduced?" Yoon appeared flustered, hesitating for about three seconds before replying, "Well, please teach me."

Earlier, during the debate on the 3rd, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, asked Yoon about 'RE100' (Renewable Energy 100%) and 'EU Taxonomy,' which also left Yoon embarrassed. Upon hearing the questions, Yoon responded with "Pardon? Could you say that again?" or requested, "I’ve never heard of the EU thing, so please explain it to me."

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, pose ahead of the first debate hosted by the National Election Commission held at MBC in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 21st. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers.

There were criticisms that the TV debates resembled a quiz show as they proceeded by asking about unfamiliar technical terms or the background of specific concepts. The repeated scenes of asking a particular candidate whether they know or don’t know something were seen as deviating from the purpose of the debate. A 40-year-old office worker, Mr. A, said, "The president is human too, so they cannot be knowledgeable in every field. People watch debates to hear the candidates’ thoughts in depth, not to see someone being humiliated."

On the other hand, some argue that it is acceptable to ask basic knowledge questions since it is a place to assess the qualifications of presidential candidates. Mr. Kim, a 20-something office worker, said, "Taxonomy is not some far-fetched concept; it’s an important issue related to trade. The question about the capital gains tax is also related to Yoon’s pledge, and the fact that he cannot properly explain what he proposed is problematic. At the very least, a presidential candidate should be able to take responsibility for their own pledges."

Experts explained that some degree of negative competition is inevitable given the fierce exchanges ahead of the election. Choi Jin, director of the Presidential Leadership Research Institute, said, "Some negativity is unavoidable in debates for the public’s right to know and candidate verification. However, before that, candidates should present a vision of the world they will create if elected president or explain their livelihood policies. This aspect is lacking. Since negativity is easier than positivity, candidates tend to focus on exposing each other’s weaknesses."

Meanwhile, two more debates hosted by the National Election Commission are scheduled for March 25 (politics) and March 2 (society).

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