Lunar New Year TV Debate at Risk of Cancellation... Yoon "Only Two-Party," Lee "Both OK," Ahn "Only Four-Party"

Schedule for Lunar New Year holiday broadcast debates not finalized, causing confusion in presidential candidates' schedules
Sung Il-jong "Lee Jae-myung, accept the one-on-one debate"
Lee Tae-gyu "One-on-one debate means multi-person debate is impossible"

The head of the People Power Party's TV debate negotiation team, Seong Il-jong, is holding a press conference on the presidential candidate TV debate negotiations at the People Power Party Central Party Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 27th. From left to right: Representative Jeon Ju-hye, Head Seong Il-jong, Special Advisor Hwang Sang-mu.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Kwon Hyun-ji] The political sphere has fallen into confusion as the schedule for the presidential election debates during the Lunar New Year holiday remains undecided. The situation is inevitably heading toward disruption as Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, insists on a one-on-one debate with Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. The differences in positions between the candidates are significant, raising the possibility that the TV debates during the Lunar New Year holiday may be canceled.

On the 28th, Seong Il-jong, head of the People Power Party’s presidential campaign TV debate negotiation team, held a press conference at the party headquarters and said, "Proposing to hold both a one-on-one debate and a multi-candidate debate on the 31st is disrespectful to each party’s candidate and the public, and it means not wanting to debate." He added, "I propose to Park Ju-min, head of the Democratic Party’s broadcasting debate content team, to meet at 11 a.m. today for practical negotiations on the one-on-one debate." He reiterated the demand for a one-on-one debate between candidate Lee and candidate Yoon, refusing to accept a multi-candidate debate during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The day before, the Democratic Party counter-proposed to the People Power Party to hold both one-on-one and four-candidate debates. Park, who leads the Democratic Party’s broadcasting debate content team, said they would accept a one-on-one debate even on the 31st but urged the People Power Party to agree to the scheduled four-candidate TV debate during the Lunar New Year holiday.

However, within the People Power Party, there are also differing opinions regarding the insistence on a one-on-one debate. Won Hee-ryong, head of the policy headquarters of the People Power Party’s election campaign, said on CBS Radio’s ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show,’ "Within the campaign headquarters, there is a strong stance that we should actively participate in debates, whether one-on-one or multi-candidate. From the beginning, many have said it doesn’t matter whether it’s one-on-one or multi-candidate. Opinions are divided," he explained.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, visited the Marine Corps 2nd Division at Aegibong Peace Ecological Park in Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 28th and received an explanation about military security. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

The People Power Party’s insistence on a one-on-one debate appears to be ultimately related to candidate Yoon’s debate preparation. Since they have prepared for a one-on-one debate with candidate Lee, switching to a multi-candidate debate would require new preparations. In fact, candidate Yoon is known to have strategized to challenge candidate Lee on suspicions related to the Daejang-dong development scandal through a one-on-one debate. Head Won explained, "It seems the debate preparation team has been preparing based on a one-on-one format. Suddenly changing the format is difficult even for the practical team, and we believe the candidate has reflected this," he said.

Despite the Lunar New Year holiday approaching rapidly, broadcasters have yet to finalize their programming schedules. The presidential candidates themselves have not confirmed their schedules for the holiday, continuing their power struggle.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It is also uncertain whether a three-candidate debate will be held without candidate Yoon, who is competing for first or second place in the next presidential election polls. Lee Dong-young, senior spokesperson for the Justice Party, said, "There is an election broadcasting code, and according to it, invitation letters were sent to all invitees. If one side notifies of non-participation, the debate can proceed excluding the party that declined," adding, "We should hold at least a three-candidate debate."

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, is speaking at a press conference hosted by the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 28th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

Lee Tae-gyu, head of the People’s Party’s general election campaign headquarters, told this outlet in a phone interview, "The People’s Party will demand that a one-on-one debate is not acceptable and that a four-candidate debate must be held," adding, "The court ruling implies that a one-on-one debate should not be held." Lee said, "The practical negotiation team will convey to the Democratic Party that if they do not give up on the one-on-one debate, there will be no three-candidate debate either." Ahn Cheol-soo, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, also posted on social media, "Once again, a manipulative one-on-one collusive debate?do they have the right to talk about fairness and common sense?" and "It would be better to be fair and square."

In the afternoon, a rule meeting related to the TV debates was scheduled at KBS broadcasting station. It is expected that the decision on whether the TV debate will be broadcast on the 31st will be made at that meeting.