Jinseongjun "Yoon, If You Don't Know RE100, It Means No Basic Energy Policy"
Seongiljong "It's Just a Corporate Campaign... The Question Itself Is Wrong"
Jinseongjun, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker (left), and Seong Iljong, People Power Party lawmaker (right), clashed on the 7th over the topic of 'RE100'. / Photo by KBS Broadcasting Capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The 'RE100 controversy' that arose during the first four-party presidential candidate TV debate continues among lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties. On the 7th, Jin Seong-jun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized, "Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol's ignorance of RE100 shows a lack of basic understanding of energy policy." In response, Seong Il-jong of the People Power Party retorted, "Isn't that just a campaign by some companies? Do you even know the capital of Zambia?"
The two lawmakers engaged in a heated exchange when the topic of RE100 came up during their appearance on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' that day.
Seong was the first to speak. He argued that the very fact that a question about RE100 was raised in the presidential TV debate was wrong, saying, "RE100 is a concept where companies use 100% renewable energy in their factories or operations, but it doesn't fit our country." He added, "It's not a national policy, but rather a campaign by some companies, so how does it make sense to bring that up as a question?"
Jin responded, "That's off the point," to which Seong replied, "If I asked you whether you know the capital of Zambia, could you answer? It's the same thing."
Jin countered, "RE100 is a declaration made by world-leading companies like Apple and Google," and said, "Although it's a voluntary campaign, it immediately affects those who supply to these global corporations."
He further emphasized, "This could become a major barrier to our trade and exports, so if we are concerned about energy, export, and economic issues, we must naturally consider RE100 as an important issue."
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate, attended the presidential debate on the 4th. / Photo by Yonhap News
As the debate intensified, the host intervened, saying, "It seems both lawmakers are well-informed on this issue. It's fortunate that our politicians show interest in environmental and energy matters," but the clash between the two continued. When Jin pointed out, "Candidate Yoon seems unaware," Seong responded, "Why are you making personal attacks?" and pressed, "What is the capital of Zambia? The capital of Zambia."
Earlier, on the 3rd, during the first four-party presidential candidate TV debate held at the KBS main studio in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 'RE100' was mentioned for the first time. Democratic candidate Lee Jae-myung asked People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, "How do you plan to respond to RE100?" Yoon replied, "What is RE100?"
When Lee explained, "It means 100% renewable energy," Yoon dismissed it as "not realistically possible." Lee responded, "Leading companies worldwide have already adopted RE100," to which Yoon countered, "It's not only renewable energy but also nuclear and other non-carbon-emitting electricity. How can it be done with only renewable energy?"
Since then, the 'RE100 controversy' has escalated into a confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties. On the 4th, Yoon Ho-jung, floor leader of the Democratic Party, attending a meeting of the election campaign headquarters, criticized, "It's shocking that a presidential candidate doesn't even know what RE100 is," adding, "It was a TV debate that caused not only anxiety about Yoon's philosophy and policy specifics but also displeasure."
On the other hand, Jeong Mi-kyung, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, said in a radio interview that day, "When people talk about things like RE100, I, too, don't really know much unless you're an expert," and criticized, "Memorizing such things to throw at the opponent causes great discomfort to the public."
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