Democratic Party Presidential Candidate 2nd TV Debate
Continued Attacks on Pardon Proposal and Drunk Driving
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential primary candidate, is passing by candidate Lee Nak-yeon during the YTN-hosted TV debate held at the YTN Media Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 4th.
[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] The second TV debate among the Democratic Party's presidential candidates continued the tense exchanges between the candidates. In particular, Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, and Lee Nak-yeon, former party leader, who form the two leading contenders, brought up again the controversies surrounding drunk driving and the pardon issue.
At the second debate held on the 4th, hosted by YTN, Governor Lee used his one-minute additional speaking chance to start by saying, "Former Leader Lee may feel uncomfortable, but I would like to say a few things." He then pointed out, "Former Leader Lee first said to ban pardons, then said not to grant pardons, calling it 'triangle,' and he was said to have supported, opposed, and then supported again the relocation of the administrative capital." He also criticized, "Regarding constitutional amendments, one day he talked about a parliamentary system, then about a multiple-term system, and there was also an incident where the Four Major Rivers Project was passed in the standing committee," highlighting former leader Lee's record.
Governor Lee said, "This is truly wrong. It is an irresponsible attitude for a politician," and added, "Politicians make promises and are entrusted with authority by the people without any collateral. Those who do not keep their promises cannot be trusted to keep them in the future." He continued, "The issue is consistency. Those who change their positions recklessly depending on time and place can change them again anytime."
Former Leader Lee corrected this by saying, "I have never said to ban pardons. I have participated in proposing an amendment to the pardon law that sets certain conditions for pardons." He added, "Regarding the administrative capital, after the Constitutional Court ruled that relocating the administrative capital violated customary constitutional law, it was natural to raise the issue for alternative measures. Regarding constitutional amendments, when the Lee Myung-bak administration was at its worst, I was interested in the parliamentary system as an alternative to the presidential system. Even then, I said that direct presidential elections were inevitable. I have never wavered."
Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun also asked, "In the February 2006 speech as the leader of the negotiating group, you harshly criticized the Roh Moo-hyun administration as an anti-commoner government that increased the wealth gap more than the military dictatorship, an incompetent and immature government. Which position regarding President Roh is the real one?"
Former Leader Lee responded, "After the 2002 presidential election, the party split. It was an unfortunate event. As the opposition party at the time, I expressed my own anger about the widening gap, and I deeply regret that we hurt each other during that period."
Former Leader Lee counterattacked by mentioning Governor Lee's "drunk driving." He asked, "In 2014, while serving as Mayor of Seongnam, you took harsh measures such as excluding public officials who committed any of the five major misconducts, including drunk driving, from promotions and withholding bonuses. Do you have any intention to apply such standards to yourself?"
Assemblyman Kim Doo-kwan and former Prime Minister Chung also joined the joint attack, asking, "As public interest in drunk driving has increased and it has become a contentious issue, what do you think?" and added, "I believe that the public service must thoroughly hold drunk driving accountable and ensure that such incidents never happen."
Governor Lee responded, "I think you want to say that I have a past record of being punished for drunk driving, and I would like to apologize first for that. I am sorry," bowing his head. He continued, "That issue is a blot on my life that I want to erase by going back to the past, but it will not happen again. Since becoming a public official, such incidents have not occurred, so I do not think I am subject to those standards."
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