Yeo Presidential Candidates Focused Attack on Yoon... Praise for "Improved Debate Skills"

"No Symptoms Welfare Is Not Easy"
"Is Presidential Governance Subject to Investigation?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The presidential candidates of the People Power Party continued their focused offensive against the leading candidate, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. In response, Yoon engaged in heated exchanges with the candidates while also exchanging compliments, creating a warm atmosphere.

The candidates led the debate during the 'Busan·Ulsan·Gyeongnam Joint Debate' held at Busan MBC in Suyeong-gu, Busan, on the afternoon of the 18th.

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, known as a "welfare expert," asked Yoon, "You claim that reforming the welfare delivery system can meet all welfare demands without raising taxes. How many trillion won do you think can be saved through restructuring expenditures and reforming the welfare delivery system?" Yoon avoided a direct answer, saying, "It's not a matter of how many trillion won."

Then, during his turn in the debate, Yoon told Yoo, "An increase in welfare does not necessarily mean an equivalent increase in taxes," arguing that welfare policies should not be pursued solely through tax hikes. He added, "Due to aging, there will be enormous spending needs in the future, so if we push through tax increases now, it will be unsustainable."

In response, Yoo countered, "No matter who becomes president, welfare demand is clearly foreseeable," adding, "President Moon Jae-in said the same but increased national debt by this much. It's not as easy as it sounds."

Former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong also posed tough questions to Yoon. When Won asked, "Will you reorganize the political landscape if you become president?" Yoon replied, "The idea that the president can arbitrarily reorganize the political landscape is to accept the president's past extralegal status," adding, "I will create a system that establishes legal order properly, not a system for retaliatory purges targeting individuals."

When asked, "How will you handle judicial proceedings against the president?" Yoon answered, "Everything must be done according to the law." He further explained regarding investigations of former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, "They were not investigated indiscriminately," and about former President Roh Moo-hyun's investigation, "In 2008, during the special tax investigation of Park Yeon-cha and the process of the case being sent to the prosecution, such statements apparently came out," indicating there was proper basis for judicial proceedings.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo also targeted Yoon with the first question in the debate. When Hong asked, "Can the president's acts of governance be subject to investigation?" Yoon replied, "There is a question of how far to recognize acts of governance, and as far as I know, about 400 million dollars were diverted from the Korea Development Bank, and it seems someone was detained for breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes."

Regarding Hong's question, "Is former President Park's involvement in candidate nominations an act of governance, a political act, or a violation of statutory law?" Yoon explained, "We indicted not for involvement in nominations but for using National Intelligence Service funds for nominations."

Hong countered, "(That budget item) is a comprehensive project fund," adding, "The comprehensive project fund is a budget that the Blue House finds difficult to disclose, allocated to the National Intelligence Service, which then supports the Blue House."

Despite the sharp questioning, the candidates concluded the debate with positive remarks such as "The debate is getting hotter and better." In particular, the candidates exchanged compliments with Yoon, who was the focus of the attacks, saying, "Your debating skills seem to be improving."