
Rep. Kim Yong-tae, the conservative People Power Party's interim chair, proposed on Tuesday a televised debate between the candidates' spouses before early in-person voting for the presidential election in South Korea begins next week.
At a press conference Tuesday, Kim said his party had proposed a TV debate between Seol Nan-young, the wife of the party's candidate Kim Moon-soo, and Kim Hye-kyung, the spouse of the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung.
"A first lady is not just a president's spouse. Rather, they are public figures who are close to the people," the conservative chair said, adding a first lady should be ready to devise policies for the underprivileged, and therefore be ready to discuss them live on television.
Kim Young-tae asked Democratic Party candidate and presidential front-runner Lee to respond to the People Power Party's proposal by no later than Friday.
"My proposal is reasonable in that people should learn about a presidential candidate's partner when voting for a candidate," Kim said.
The conservative party's candidate, Kim Moon-soo, 73, tied the knot with Seol in 1981. They have one daughter. The liberal party's Lee, 60, married Kim in 1991. They have two sons. Rep. Lee Jun-seok, 40, of the minor conservative New Reform Party is not married.
The conservative party's proposal is an apparent push to highlight Seol's moral standards. At her media appearance Monday, Seol said she could "never imagine herself using government credit cards for a personal purpose," in remarks apparently targeting Lee's wife, Kim.
On Friday, Lee's wife Kim appealed a high court ruling over her alleged violation of the Public Official Election Act in 2021, for the misuse of a taxpayer-funded credit card during a presidential party primary when Lee was also governor of Gyeonggi Province.

"In the past, problems related to the first lady have left people disappointed rather than hopeful, triggered social divide instead of unity," Kim said, in an apparent reference to previous President Yoon Suk Yeol's wife Kim Keon Hee. The former first lady faced criticism and threats of a special counsel investigation due to her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation case and an alleged violation of the antigraft rule.
Lee Jae-myung, however, turned down the debate proposal.
During his visit to Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, Lee told reporters "There is no place for a playful invitation to an event like that," adding that such an election must not be taken lightly because it is deemed "a sacred exercise of people's rights."
Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, a senior staff member at the Democratic Party's campaign headquarters, told reporters Tuesday that now is the time for voters to focus on the presidential candidates' capability to execute policies amid ongoing political turmoil, in the aftermath of Yoon's brief martial law imposition in December. Jo also described the conservative rival's proposal as "absurd and bizarre."
Meanwhile, Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party criticized the People Power Party's proposal for being based on "delusional thinking," as he visited Gwangju in the southwestern region.
No televised debate between the spouses of presidential candidates has taken place in South Korea since the country's democratization in 1987.
consnow@heraldcorp.com