DPK Leadership Contenders Clash in Final TV Debate Ahead of Convention

[Anchor]

The final TV debate for the Democratic Party of Korea's leadership contenders has been held. With the race heating up and the party convention just around the corner on August 17, sharp exchanges took place among the candidates.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Held five days ahead of the August 17 party convention and hosted by SBS, this was the final TV debate.

Candidate Kim Min-seok took issue with Candidate Chung Cheong-rae's past friction with the Buddhist community ahead of the 20th presidential election, holding him accountable for the presidential defeat.

[Kim Min-seok / DPK Leadership Candidate: When we lost the election before last by a very narrow margin, the conflict with the Buddhist community regarding Candidate Lee Jae-myung became an issue. (Candidate Chung Cheong-rae) at the time refused to apologize and refused to leave the party...]

[Chung Cheong-rae / DPK Leadership Candidate: Ask the Buddhist monks yourself. They all like Chung Cheong-rae. I resolved the issue with the amendment to the Cultural Heritage Protection Act.]

Candidate Chung emphasized that Candidate Kim Min-seok had approved the launch of single-stock leverage ETFs during his time as prime minister.

[Chung Cheong-rae / DPK Leadership Candidate: I hope you will offer comfort and make responsible remarks to those who suffered heavy losses because of this.]

[Kim Min-seok / DPK Leadership Candidate: I have expressed my regret and apologized for that several times, and I say so again today.]

Candidate Song Young-gil also targeted Candidate Chung, raising issue with an incorrect answer regarding the number one national task of the Lee Jae-myung government.

[Song Young-gil / DPK Leadership Candidate: Putting an end to internal rebellion is something like the number one pledge of the Rebuilding Korea Party, as far as I know. So I wonder if (Candidate Chung Cheong-rae) has mentally leaned too much toward the Rebuilding Korea Party.]

[Chung Cheong-rae / DPK Leadership Candidate: I will ask you right now. Then what is national task number 50? (Pardon?) What is national task number 50?]

Having wrapped up the final TV debate today, the candidates are now gearing up for the Honam regional tour primary on August 15, considered a major battleground, followed by the Seoul-Gyeonggi regional tour primary the next day.

The next ruling party leader will be decided at the party convention on August 17, based on final vote counts that include public opinion poll results.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Oh Young-chun and Kim Yong-woo | Video by Jeon Min-gyu
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.