South Korea’s presidential candidates face off in first debate
SEOUL—South Korea’s presidential candidates were set to face off in their first TV debate on Sunday evening ahead of a snap election on June 3 to choose a successor to former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was impeached over his short-lived martial law declaration in December.
Sunday’s debate, the first of three TV debates scheduled over the next two weeks, focused on how to revitalize the struggling economy, one of the hot-button election issues.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy contracted in the first quarter as exports and consumption stalled amid fears over the impact of Washington’s aggressive tariffs and political turmoil at home.
South Korea has begun trade talks with the United States and is seeking a waiver from the tariffs.
After US President Donald Trump slapped 25 percent tariffs on South Korea in April, Seoul was one of the first countries to hold face-to-face talks with Washington, following in the footsteps of Japan.
Lee Jae-myung, the main opposition Democratic Party’s candidate and the frontrunner in the race, has vowed to raise artificial intelligence investment up to 100 trillion won ($71.52 billion) and offer a production tax credit of up to 10 percent for semiconductors manufactured and sold domestically.
Pledges
Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate for the conservative People Power Party (PPP), has pledged to create a government agency dedicated to innovating regulations and invest over 5 percent of the budget in research and development.
Lee holds a lead with 51 percent support in the latest Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, with Kim trailing far behind at 29 percent.
Former President Yoon was ousted last month over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, stoking political turmoil and triggering the election.
Lee called earlier in the day for constitutional reform to allow a four-year, two-term presidency and a two-round system for presidential elections through a referendum.
South Korean presidents currently serve a single five-year term.
Curbing martial law
He also vowed to curb the presidential right to declare martial law and hold to account those responsible for the Dec. 3 martial law declaration.
“We must gather the people’s strength to root [them] out and strictly hold [them] accountable,” he told a press briefing.
South Korea’s ousted former President Yoon on Saturday said that he was leaving the PPP, according to his Facebook post.
The announcement comes as PPP’s presidential candidate is badly trailing the liberal Democratic Party candidate in the polls before the snap election.
Yoon, whose December surprise martial law and subsequent ouster by impeachment brought about the snap presidential election, had been called by party members to leave the party in an effort to muster more support from moderate voters who negatively view his actions.
“I am leaving the People Power Party to fulfill my responsibility to protect the free Republic of Korea … Please lend your support to Kim Moon-soo,” Yoon said in his post, referring to South Korea’s official name.
