Yoo Seung-min and Yoon Seok-yeol, Second Round of Pledge Copying Controversy... "Is There Any Evidence That They Didn't Copy?"

Yoon Seok-yeol Claims Controversial Pledge Based on Military Service Interviews
Refuses to Provide Related Data Despite Yoo Seung-min's Request
"Yoon's Focus on Sequence Ignores Public Perception," Yoo's Side Responds
Yoo Seung-min's Camp: "Candidate Was Deceived or Deceived Others, Must Apologize"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The controversy over plagiarism of pledges, which became a major issue during the People Power Party’s second presidential debate, is intensifying. Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol promised former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min that he would provide interview materials that formed the basis for pledges such as ‘granting 5 additional points for housing subscription to military service members’ and ‘extending the national pension by 18 months,’ but these materials were not submitted. A verbal dispute between the two sides ensued regarding this matter.

On the 24th, Yoo’s side stated, "During yesterday’s debate, former Prosecutor General Yoon claimed that ‘the pledge to grant 5 additional points for housing subscription to military service members and the pledge to extend the national pension by 18 months were results obtained from interviews with dozens of military service members conducted by the campaign’s policy staff,’ and he pledged to provide the interview materials." They added, "In several phone calls after the debate, Yoon’s side finally promised to ‘anonymize personal information and deliver the materials by 6 p.m. on the 24th or post them on Facebook.’ However, after 6 p.m., Yoon’s side changed their statement, saying they would ‘release the interview materials two hours before the debate on Sunday the 26th.’ What is the intention behind this?"

Yoo’s side further questioned, "Do these materials really exist?" and criticized, "Could it be that they are making them now? Is a candidate’s lie during a debate grounds for withdrawal?"

In response, Yoon’s side introduced the pledge formulation process in a statement, asking, "How would the public feel about ignoring the voices desired by the people that are conveyed to various candidates, discussed, and turned into pledges, and focusing only on the order of pledge announcements?" They added, "We hope that the primary debate will not become a battleground for disputes over the order of pledge announcements but rather a constructive policy discussion forum to gather wisdom on concrete implementation plans of the pledges and inform the public."

Yoon’s side also explained, "Pledges reflect the times and the lives of the people, so similar pledges created from shared social concerns and awareness of problems can certainly exist. Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol’s foreign affairs and security pledges consist of 11 goals and over 100 detailed pledges, and among them, the pledge related to the military service members’ housing subscription point system was created through listening to diverse opinions and intense discussions."

However, the interview materials that Yoon promised to provide were not included in the disclosed content.

In a separate statement, Yoo’s side criticized, "Yoon’s side only offered lame excuses and ultimately failed to present the interview materials containing the ‘5 additional points for housing subscription to military service members and the 18-month national pension credit pledge.’ Whether the campaign deceived the candidate or the candidate knowingly lied, we hope it is not the latter," adding, "Even if it is the former, the candidate should personally apologize for the falsehood instead of blaming the campaign. Stubbornness without reason looks pathetic."