Lee-Yoon Debate Counterproposal to Broadcasters: "Requesting Prime Time on the Day Before or Two Days Before the Debate"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok and Park Joon-yi] The Democratic Party and the People Power Party have agreed to propose a rescheduled date for the presidential candidates' one-on-one TV debate before the Lunar New Year holiday. They requested that the debate between Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung and People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-youl be primarily considered for broadcast on one of the three major terrestrial broadcasters on the 31st (the day before Lunar New Year) or the 30th (two days before Lunar New Year) between 7 PM and 10 PM.

Negotiation teams, including Park Joo-min, head of the Democratic Party's Election Committee's Broadcast Debate Content Division, and Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party's TV Debate Negotiation Team, reached this agreement after holding working-level talks at the National Assembly on the same day.

Representative Seong said, "We thought it would be good to give the public an opportunity to watch the debate between the two candidates and make a proper judgment, so we requested that the debate be broadcast during prime time." He added, "The first option is between 7 PM and 10 PM on the 31st, but if that scheduling is difficult, the second option is between 7 PM and 10 PM on the 30th, as we believe this timing would allow many citizens to watch and help in choosing the national leader. We concluded accordingly."

Earlier, Representative Park announced the day before, "The three major terrestrial broadcasters have decided to hold a one-on-one debate between candidate Lee and candidate Yoon on the 27th," and confirmed a 120-minute debate. However, following this announcement, Representative Seong held a separate press conference stating, "The three terrestrial broadcasters sent us a preference for the 27th," and added, "We will consult with the Democratic Party to agree on which date is more suitable," expressing opposition.

Although both sides have agreed to renegotiate and propose a counteroffer to the three terrestrial broadcasters, whether it will be accepted depends on the broadcasters' decision. Regarding this, the Democratic Party stated that if the proposal is not accepted, they hold the position that the debate should be held on the 27th regardless. On the other hand, the People Power Party said, "Isn't there a more important issue than this?" and added, "We believe the three terrestrial broadcasters will thoroughly review the proposal."

Once the broadcast time is finalized, both parties plan to discuss specific debate formats and other details through a rules meeting.