Basic Income Party's Oh Junho: "The Three Major Broadcasters Thoroughly Exclude Minor Parties' Voices in the Two-Party Presidential TV Debate"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Oh Junho, the presidential candidate of the Basic Income Party, criticized on the 24th the discussion about scheduling a two-party TV debate between Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Yoon Seok-yeol, the candidate of the People Power Party, saying, “Public broadcasters like KBS and MBC are deciding the election framework as a two-party contest without even having guidelines to report the voices of minor parties at least to a certain extent.”

Oh held a press conference at the National Assembly in the afternoon and said, “The three broadcasters have so far thoroughly excluded the voices of minor parties and focused their coverage only on the major two-party candidates. This two-party debate is a continuation of that,” adding, “The three broadcasters are abandoning their responsibility as public broadcasters to use the airwaves for the public interest. I express deep regret.”

He continued, “The reason this is happening is that prominent broadcast anchors who recently hosted shows have joined Lee Jae-myung’s campaign, and former employees of the three broadcasters hold key positions in Yoon Seok-yeol’s campaign,” raising his voice, “We cannot help but suspect that the media and politics are clinging together like Man Susan’s wild vines, forming a vested interest cartel.”

Oh said, “The media should fairly provide a certain amount of coverage opportunities so that minor party candidates can also convey their visions and policies,” and added, “This can be done in various ways, such as a multi-candidate debate with all candidates participating at least once, issue debates where several candidates gather by major topics, individual interviews where candidates explain their policies and pledges, and individual advertisements.”

He further stated, “Public broadcasters must stop seriously infringing on the public’s right to know as they do now and the collusion between major parties and the media to decide the election framework,” and added, “At least minimum standards should be established to ensure that all candidates’ pledges and policies are reported and debated fairly to a certain extent.”