Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, and People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo shake  hands before entering a televised debate filmed at the KBS Studio in western Seoul on Friday. Yonhap
Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, and People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo shake hands before entering a televised debate filmed at the KBS Studio in western Seoul on Friday. Yonhap

The top two leading presidential candidates on Friday locked horns as they blamed each other and the actions by their parties as major reasons behind the country’s widening social divide.

During a televised debate that kicked off at 8 p.m., Lee Jae-myung, the liberal Democratic Party of Korea’s candidate pointed to the failure to respect others, and attempting to merely “eliminate” them, as a main cause of the divide. He explained that such failure is reflected in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s “insurrection case” tied to the failed Dec. 3 martial law bid.

Kim, meanwhile, pointed to lying and corruption -- taking an apparent jab at Lee – as catalysts fueling the growing divide.

“We must respect our opponents and attempt to talk to them, acknowledge them and compromise, but we try to eliminate them,” Lee said. “The most extreme form of this is the latest insurrection and martial law case.”

Lee’s remarks are aligned with the Democratic Party’s repeated accusations against the People Power Party for “taking part in the insurrection.”

He said that overcoming the current political turmoil stemming from the martial law bid and “bringing strict judgment” to those involved in the insurrection case would be “the most important solution” to patch up the social divide.

Kim attacked Lee by mentioning the charges of election law violation, while stressing that “the corrupted” must be eliminated to bring about a social unification.

“For us to truly achieve social unification, the fraudsters must be gone. Shouldn’t there be no corrupted person in order for us (to achieve) unity among the people?” Kim said during the same debate.

Kim lambasted Lee and the Democratic Party for summoning the Supreme Court chief to a parliamentary hearing after the top court, on May 1, overturned a lower court’s acquittal of Lee on charges of election law violation.

Earlier this month, the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, led by the Democratic Party, summoned Chief Justice Jo Hee-de to appear at a parliamentary hearing to explain the court’s handling of the case. However, the Supreme Court soon submitted a statement saying that it would be difficult for Jo and other justices to attend "for various reasons."

“After the Supreme Court sent back the case (to a lower) court, believing Lee is guilty after lying and violating the election law, he has been trying to do as he pleases with the Supreme Court such as summoning the chief justice to a hearing, attempting to impeach (the chief justice) and appointing 100 top justices,” Kim said.

The Supreme Court on May 1, overturned a lower court’s acquittal of Lee on charges election law violation, sending to case back to the Seoul High Court. The Seoul High Court acquitted Lee of lying as a presidential candidate during the 2022 presidential election campaign. The appeals court, meanwhile, postponed the first hearing of Lee’s retrial on election law violation charges until after the June 3 presidential election.

South Korea's widening social divide has been characterized by growing income inequality, gender conflicts and political polarization.


mkjung@heraldcorp.com