[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Ahn Cheol-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, criticized the two-person TV debate involving only Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party on the 19th, saying, "A debate between the most disliked candidate and the second most disliked candidate is a hate debate."
At a press conference held at the People's Party Daejeon branch that day, Ahn criticized the TV debate planned before the Lunar New Year involving only the two candidates as an "unfair debate."
He said, "Isn't it right to give the people a chance to judge? This opportunity has been taken away." Ahn added, "Just like monopoly companies raise prices and cause harm, having only two monopoly parties like this ultimately makes the people the victims," calling it a "monopoly debate."
Ahn said, "If it is to be held, it should strictly follow the National Election Commission's standards," and pointed out, "Forcing only these two candidates by their size and pushing the presidential election as a two-person race where people must choose one is an act of deceiving the public."
Regarding the unification with Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate, Ahn said, "People seem to be talking about unification with Ahn (Anilhwa), but I will walk my path steadily without hesitation."
However, he noted, "In a one-on-one contest between candidate Lee and candidate Yoon, there are many cases where I lose or the race is very close," adding, "The problem is that the current government has many means it can use. If the race is close, the probability of losing the election is actually much higher." Ahn emphasized his competitiveness over candidate Yoon in a one-on-one race by saying, "If you look at the interviewer poll rather than ARS, when I face Governor Lee Jae-myung one-on-one, I win beyond the margin of error, and even Democratic Party supporters who supported Governor Lee also support me."
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