Five Days Until National Convention... Fierce Slanging Match in Final TV Debate

[Anchor]

With five days left until the Democratic Party's national convention, the final TV debate took place today. Ahead of the regional primaries in Honam, Seoul, and Gyeonggi this weekend, the three candidates engaged in a mudslinging match.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Five days ahead of the August 17 Democratic Party National Convention, the final TV debate was held, hosted by SBS.

Candidate Kim Min-seok, who is leading candidate Jung Cheong-rae by a cumulative vote margin of 1.45 percentage points, claimed that during the 2022 presidential election, Jung caused conflicts with the Buddhist community through what was called the 'Bong-i Kim Seon-dal' remark, which ruined the election.

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate : You ruined the presidential election, why aren't you apologizing for that? Isn't that what you call a betrayal?]

Candidate Jung launched a counterattack by recalling Kim's departure from the party in 2002, labeling it as 'betrayal'.

[Jung Cheong-rae / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate : Candidate Kim Min-seok, please relax your face. You betrayed President Roh Moo-hyun and left the party, and it seems you have a lot of trauma regarding that betrayal.]

Jung raised the issue of responsibility, pointing out that Kim was prime minister when the enforcement decree for single-stock leveraged ETFs was passed.

[Jung Cheong-rae / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate : I have been continuously saying that I hope you would offer comfort and make responsible remarks to those who suffered bitterly (due to the passage of the single-stock leveraged ETF).]

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate : I expressed my regret and apologized again today. It seems you don't remember what I said earlier, but I already did, and didn't I also explain the progress?]

Sharp expressions such as cartel and political maneuvering were also poured out.

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate : (From the pro-Jung faction) under the name of progressivism, like a kind of cartel around the party, I think it is time to end this now.]

[Jung Cheong-rae / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate : (Candidate Kim Min-seok) under the guise of questioning, seems very accustomed to things that go beyond conspiracy theories into the realm of political maneuvering.]

A debate unfolded between Candidate Song Young-gil and Candidate Jung regarding the national policy tasks of the Lee Jae-myung administration.

[Song Young-gil / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate : (The fact that the first national policy task of the Lee Jae-myung administration) is ending civil rebellion could be said to be the number one pledge of the Rebuilding Korea Party. I am thinking whether (Candidate Jung Cheong-rae) has been mentally too inclined toward the Rebuilding Korea Party.]

[Jung Cheong-rae / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate : Let me ask you right now. Then what is national policy task number 50? (Pardon?) What is national policy task number 50?]

The Democratic Party will hold regional primaries in Honam on the 15th, and in Seoul and Gyeonggi on the 16th, before finalizing the next leader at the national convention on the 17th based on final vote shares that include 30% of public opinion poll results.

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