Kang Yong-seok, Surge in Approval Ratings After Debate... Will It Lead to 'Unification with Kim Eun-hye'?

Candidate Kang Yong-seok aggressively confronts opponents starting with pledge verification
People Power Party member board urges 'Unification of candidates Kim Eun-hye and Kang Yong-seok'

KBS Invited Gyeonggi Province Governor Candidate Broadcast Debate [KBS Screen Capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Independent candidate Kang Yong-seok, who has attracted public attention and sparked controversy even before the candidate debate was held due to various twists and turns, is drawing interest as to whether he will increase his support and expand his base after the KBS-invited Gyeonggi Province governor candidate debate held on the 12th.

In particular, after the debate, many posts urging the unification of candidates Kim Eun-hye and Kang Yong-seok appeared on the People Power Party's member bulletin board.

Through the People Power Party website's 'I Have Something to Say' section, comments such as "Don't be complacent... The governor of Gyeonggi Province should be unified between the People Power Party and Kang Yong-seok," "Expel Lee Jun-seok and let Kang Yong-seok join the party to unify with candidate Kim," "Hope for a swift unification with Kang Yong-seok," "Watching the Gyeonggi governor debate makes me very conflicted; unification seems necessary," and "Why was Kang Yong-seok's party admission denied, causing this situation?" were expressed.

At the debate, candidate Kang Yong-seok aggressively pressed the opposing candidates, starting with a rigorous verification of their pledges.

He directly criticized the pledges of Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party and Kim Dong-yeon of the Democratic Party of Korea as "'Kim siblings' pledges with no differences to the extent that you can't tell who made them just by covering the titles."

He continued, "There are new ideas among the pledges, but it's okay to copy others' pledges; however, I wish the original authorship would be acknowledged," he pointed out.

Independent candidate Kang Yong-seok and Democratic Party candidate Kim Dong-yeon [KBS screen capture]

Regarding Kim Dong-yeon's 'prosecutorial suspension,' Kang probed, "In 1994 or 1995, you assaulted a taxi driver and received a prosecutorial suspension, right?"

When Kim responded, "I never beat anyone up, but 30 years ago... I was given a prosecutorial suspension," Kang countered, "A prosecutorial suspension means the crime is acknowledged but deferred. Nowadays, Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu is being tried under the Special Act because of that."

Kang also raised suspicions, saying, "Your eyesight was 0.04 during the military physical exam, but suddenly improved during the civil servant physical exam. There was no LASIK surgery back then."

Kim Dong-yeon explained, "I completed my military service as an active-duty soldier; please check my military service certificate."

After the debate, Kim's camp stated, "There is no factual basis for the suspicion regarding the eyesight test results during military service," adding, "The test was a detailed examination conducted after enlistment, and as a bank clerk who was a young head of household, there was no possibility of any unfair advantage or 'backdoor' involvement."

Kang continued to focus his fire on Kim Dong-yeon's 'basic income' and 'new town pledges.'

Regarding 'basic income,' Kang said, "I recall the movie title by director Hong Sang-soo, 'Right Now, Wrong Then.' It feels like you're trying too hard to align with former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, with whom you don't get along."

He added, "You say Lee Jae-myung's basic income is populism and question whether it has a proper philosophy, but now you claim to inherit Lee's basic income series and even make statements harsher than Lee's."

Kim Dong-yeon replied, "My thoughts on basic income have not changed. The youth basic income and farmer basic income currently implemented in Gyeonggi Province target specific groups. I think it's acceptable to expand targeting special groups depending on policy goals."

Regarding Kim Eun-hye's remarks on the 'New Town Special Act,' Kang said, "I don't really know what that entails," and questioned, "Do you think it can pass the National Assembly? It's not just a legal issue but a conflict between Gyeonggi Province's 59 lawmakers and the other 240 lawmakers from other regions. It's not a matter of ruling or opposition parties. If it conflicts with the theory of balanced national development, nothing will happen."

Candidate Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party and independent candidate Kang Yong-seok [KBS screen capture]

Candidate Kang Yong-seok also continued sharp attacks against candidate Kim Eun-hye.

Regarding Kim Eun-hye's 'Hyperloop' pledge, he said, "Even Elon Musk hasn't properly built it yet; it runs at 1,500 km/h," and questioned, "If it runs from Goyang to Incheon Airport, it would probably take about 1 minute and 10 seconds, so what kind of Hyperloop takes 30 minutes? Please explain."

Kim Eun-hye responded, "Who would have thought of self-driving cars 10 years ago? The same goes for Pangyo Techno Valley. I believe anyone who dreams can make reality."

Kang replied, "The Hyperloop runs in a vacuum. If you know a bit of physics, you know how difficult it is to create a vacuum in normal air. Are you confusing it with a vacuum cleaner? Maybe it could be done in about 40 years, but should we build a Hyperloop within a 4-year term?" he repeatedly questioned.

Candidates Kim Eun-hye, Kim Dong-yeon, and Kang Yong-seok Debate [KBS Screen Capture]

When verifying Justice Party candidate Hwang Soon-sik's pledges, Kang dismissed them as "talks with no feasibility," continuing criticism of Kim Dong-yeon and Kim Eun-hye's pledges.

Regarding the 'Daejang-dong development preferential treatment suspicion' aimed at Kim Dong-yeon, Kang cooperated with Kim Eun-hye.

When Kim Eun-hye asked Kang, "How would you define Daejang-dong in one word?" Kang defined it as "a notorious real estate fraud case where under Lee Jae-myung's design, some people beneath him embezzled several hundred billion won."

Kim Dong-yeon dismissed it, saying, "It has nothing to do with me," drawing a clear line.

The candidate invitation debate held that day was a four-person debate including Justice Party candidate Hwang Soon-sik and independent Kang Yong-seok, unlike the first debate on the 9th.

Meanwhile, all four candidates attending the debate completed their candidate registration at the Gyeonggi Province Election Commission that day.

(Photo from left) People Power Party candidate Kim Eun-hye, Justice Party candidate Hwang Soon-sik, Democratic Party candidate Kim Dong-yeon, Independent candidate Kang Yong-seok [Yonhap News]

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