Tonight's Political TV Debate to Feature Heated Discussions on Election System and Constitutional Amendment

Russia, Ukraine Invasion Likely to Spark Debate Over Additional THAAD Deployment

Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party, Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, and Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party, presidential candidates (from left), are posing for a commemorative photo before the start of the 2022 presidential candidate invitation debate hosted by the Korea Journalists Association and jointly organized by six broadcasting companies at the Maeil Business Newspaper Media Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 11th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Ahead of the National Election Commission's 2nd TV debate scheduled for 8 PM on the 25th, all presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties have halted their campaigns to focus on debate preparations. Since the debate topic is in the political field, a fierce exchange is expected over issues such as election system reform, constitutional amendment, and preemptive strike theory against North Korea.

In particular, following the Democratic Party's announcement of the 'National Integration Political Reform Plan' the previous day, which includes starting a constitutional amendment within a year for a four-year presidential term with one re-election and reforming the electoral district system to realize a practical multi-party system, political reform and security issues have come to the forefront amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to the Democratic Party, regarding the restructuring of the power system, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung is expected to propose the card of guaranteeing a practical multi-party coalition politics to third-zone candidates such as Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party and Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party at this event. Candidates Ahn and Sim plan to scrutinize the sincerity of Lee’s proposal. The camps of candidates Sim and Ahn are expected to counter that since this is an issue related to election system reform rules, the position of the main opposition party, the People Power Party, is also important. Candidate Yoon’s camp also stated, "If it is for the political development of the Republic of Korea, it should be sufficiently discussed, but since this announcement came right before the presidential election, the debate will serve to verify it."

In the field of diplomacy and security, a heated debate is also expected again over candidate Yoon’s additional deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and preemptive strike theory. A representative from candidate Lee’s camp said, "We will emphasize the importance of harmony among peace, security, and economy, and explain the impact of preemptive strikes on security and economy with neighboring countries." On the other hand, candidate Yoon’s camp stated, "The core of the Ukraine invasion is that if military power is weak, even agreements emphasizing reconciliation and peace can be broken," and added, "For the sake of the lives of the people, we will reiterate the position that not only THAAD deployment on the Korean Peninsula but also medium- and low-altitude missile defense systems must be prepared."

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