Lee "Special Prosecutor for Daejang-dong" vs Yoon "Presidential Election or Class President Election?" Negative Debate Clouds... Where Will Swing Voters Go?

Last Debate Also Focused on 'Daejang-dong'... Lee "Responsible Even If Elected" vs Yoon "Is This a Class President Election?"
Experts "Yoon-An Unity Will Have More Impact Than TV Debate"

On the 2nd, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, attended the 3rd social sector broadcast debate for the 20th presidential election candidates, hosted by the National Election Commission, held at the KBS studio in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] With less than a week remaining until the 20th presidential election, the announcement of public opinion poll results has been banned starting today (the 3rd), prompting both sides to launch a final all-out effort to capture the votes of undecided voters.

Earlier, the presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties engaged in fierce exchanges during recent TV debates to win over centrist and undecided voters. The TV debates were particularly important in this election due to significant restrictions on face-to-face campaigning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, even in the final debate, negative exchanges continued, causing voter fatigue. Experts predict that the TV debates will not have a significant impact on voters' decisions.

On the 2nd, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, clashed over the preferential treatment allegations related to the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, during the final TV debate hosted by the National Election Commission.

During the debate held at the KBS headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, focusing on social issues, Yoon accused Lee, saying, "As mayor, you designed and approved the Daejang-dong incident, but the prosecution covered up this investigation. However, evidence of the cover-up keeps emerging." He then listed the prosecution testimonies and recordings of those involved in the Daejang-dong project one by one, and criticized, "Isn't it insulting to the public for a candidate like this to talk about a country where they want to raise children and about the value of labor?"

On the evening of the 2nd, at the KBS headquarters studio in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is passing by Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, during the third social sector broadcast debate for the 20th presidential election hosted by the National Election Commission.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, Lee said, "I don't know how many times this has been recycled already," and countered, "Even after the election, we must have a special prosecutor investigation, and if problems are revealed, I will take responsibility even if I become president." Yoon immediately raised his voice, saying, "Look at this." When Lee repeatedly asked, "Do you agree?" Yoon again said, "Look at this," and the candidates' voices grew louder.

In particular, Yoon pointed out, "So far, as the majority party, you have avoided investigations. Is the presidential election a class president election for elementary school kids? The investigation was not conducted properly, and the prosecution covered it up, didn't they?" Despite this, when Lee asked again, "So let's have a special prosecutor. Why don't you agree?" Yoon replied, "Of course, the investigation should be conducted. Why hasn't it been done until now?"

The final debate before the 20th presidential election was marred by negativity, leading voters to express disappointment. Initially, due to various restrictions on face-to-face campaigning caused by COVID-19, voter interest in TV debates was high. However, in the three debates, instead of verifying candidates' policies and qualifications, the negative fights caused increased fatigue.

Lee, a 20-something office worker, said, "I hoped for in-depth policy discussions in the debates to shed the stigma of the 'most disliked presidential election ever.' But all the candidates were busy tearing each other down," adding, "It was disappointing. Especially since the election is less than a week away, they should refrain from negativity and compete on policies from now on."

Another 20-something employee, Jung, said, "I didn't have a party I supported, so I planned to watch the TV debates to decide whom to vote for. But the negativity was so severe that it made me frown," and added, "I also doubted the candidates' sincerity. In the debates, they only said things that would please the public to gain votes, and I wondered if they would change their words after becoming president."

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People Party, are shaking hands after concluding a unification press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the morning of the 3rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The importance of TV debates is also reflected in research data. According to the "Analysis of the Effects of the 19th Presidential Election Candidate Debates" published by the Korean Political Science Association, among 1,000 respondents who watched the TV debates, more than half?618 people (61.8%)?answered that they were able to verify the candidates' qualifications through the debates. Voters judge the suitability of presidential candidates by observing them in the debates.

When asked about the impact of the debates on their candidate support, 38.1% of respondents said they "became more favorable." This was followed by ▲"The debate had little impact on my candidate support" (31.6%) ▲"I changed my candidate after watching the debate" (19.7%) ▲"I had no candidate before, but I chose one after the debate" (9.3%).

Among these, there is also an analysis that TV debates do not significantly influence the majority of voters' decisions beyond the undecided voters. In the 2016 TV debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Hillary was considered the clear winner. According to a CNN poll conducted immediately after the debate, 57% said "Hillary won," while only 34% said "Trump won." However, Trump won the election. In summary, TV debates are not a decisive factor determining the election outcome but exert an influence that cannot be ignored.

Experts predict that the unification of Yoon and Ahn Cheol-soo, the People's Party candidate, will be a bigger variable in the election than the TV debates. Yoon and Ahn declared their opposition party unification on the 3rd, one day before the early voting for the 20th presidential election.

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "I don't think the TV debates will have a significant impact on actual support rates," adding, "If the final debate had clear differentiating points that were not seen in previous debates or if any candidate had presented a definite 'smoking gun' related to their suspicions, it would have had an impact. But there was nothing special in this debate," and predicted, "Rather, the unification of Yoon and Ahn will have a greater impact on the election."

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