Second Debate on Opposition Candidate Third-Base Unification Held on the Afternoon of the 25th
Ahn Cheol-soo, the preliminary candidate of the People’s Party, and Geum Tae-seop, an independent preliminary candidate running in the Seoul mayoral by-election, are attending the second unification debate held at KNK Digital Tower in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 25th, and are taking a commemorative photo. (Photo by Yonhap News)
[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party and a preliminary candidate for the Seoul mayoral by-election, and Geum Tae-seop, former member of the Democratic Party of Korea, cited 'COVID-19 quarantine' and 'support for small business owners' as the most urgent tasks for Seoul City. They criticized the previous administration in unison during the debate held that day.
In the second debate for the opposition candidates' 'third zone' unification held that afternoon, Ahn stated, "Solving the COVID-19 quarantine issue throughout the mayoral term is the most important."
Ahn emphasized, "To ensure quarantine, we will create a Seoul-type social distancing through the public-private joint quarantine countermeasure committee," adding, "The quarantine measures proposed by the government are unscientific and haphazard, causing public dissatisfaction. Recently, they announced that they would accept my proposal belatedly and reorganize based on scientific criteria of density, proximity, and enclosure."
He pointed out the reorganization of the hospital system as one of the COVID-19 quarantine measures. Ahn explained, "There is no plan on how many beds to open in which hospitals and how many medical staff are needed when a certain number of COVID-19 patients occur," adding, "We want to prepare in advance for possible fourth and fifth large-scale outbreaks."
Former lawmaker Geum viewed support for self-employed and small business owners struggling due to COVID-19 as the most urgent. He argued, "To endure until the end of the year when we can escape the crisis through the COVID-19 vaccine, regular monthly support for more than six months is necessary," adding, "Seoul City should regularly provide 2 million won, which is 80% of the average rent of 2.5 million won, to 410,000 self-employed people. Such practical support will help self-employed people survive without closing their businesses."
Geum also mentioned measures for young people who cannot find jobs. He said, "If support is not provided this time, it will be difficult for youth measures to succeed," adding, "We need to urgently provide 500,000 won monthly for six months to support job-seeking activities."
Both candidates criticized the 10-year administration of the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in unison. Ahn said, "There were really many problems in Seoul over the past 10 years. Two representative ones are the skyrocketing real estate prices and the economic recession in Seoul," adding, "The cause is the privatization and personalization of city administration. The mayor created a political organization with his authority and focused on small matters related to personal hobbies, so he failed to bring about significant changes that Seoul citizens could feel."
Former lawmaker Geum also criticized, "The biggest problem with Park’s 10-year administration was that he regarded Seoul city administration as a stepping stone for his presidential bid," adding, "If a person with excessive political ambition becomes Seoul mayor again, such things could happen again."
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