Kim Yongtae Proposes Televised Debate Between Seol Nanyeong and Kim Hyekyung, Highlighting Lack of First Lady Scrutiny

"Severely Lacking in Vetting of Presidential Spouses"
"Let's Share Views on the Role of the First Lady"

Kim Yongtae, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, announced on the 20th, "I propose a televised debate between Seol Nanyeong, spouse of Kim Moonsoo, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate."

During a press conference that day, Chairman Kim stated, "While the social influence of the president's spouse is significant, there has been a severe lack of scrutiny in this area." He added, "I hope that both candidates will openly share their views with the public, not only regarding their policy philosophies for women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, who are socially vulnerable, but also about the roles and responsibilities of the First Lady."

Yonhap News

Chairman Kim described the president's spouse as "a public figure who stands closest to the people at the president's side," and explained, "At times, the First Lady has played a symbolic role in delivering messages of empathy and consideration for the socially disadvantaged and marginalized, and has even influenced national policy."

Chairman Kim also emphasized, "This is not targeted at any specific spouse." He continued, "This is the first step toward raising the level of political culture in Korea and institutionalizing the public's right to know," adding, "It is a reasonable request that the public should be able to judge who will stand beside the president when choosing their leader."

Chairman Kim proposed that the televised debate be held before the early voting period (May 29-30). He politely requested the Democratic Party to "announce its position by May 23."