[Anchor]

With five days left until the Democratic Party national convention, the final TV debate was held today. Ahead of the regional primaries in Honam, Seoul, and Gyeonggi Province 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 took place, 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 ruined the campaign by causing a conflict with the Buddhist community due to his so-called "Bongyi Kim Seon-dal" remarks.

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate: You ruined the presidential election. Why are you not apologizing for that? Isn't that what you call betrayal?]

Candidate Jung fired back by bringing up Kim's history of leaving the party in 2002, calling it a "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 from that betrayal.]

Jung raised the issue of accountability, pointing out that Kim was prime minister when the enforcement decree for single-stock leverage ETFs was approved.

[Jung Cheong-rae / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate: (Regarding the approval of single-stock leverage ETFs) I have been continuously saying that I hope you offer comfort to those who suffered and make responsible remarks.]

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate: I expressed regret and apologized again today. You don't seem to remember what I said earlier, but I already did. Did I not also explain the process?]

Sharp expressions such as "cartel" and "political maneuvering" were also hurled back and forth.

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate: (Among the pro-Jung faction) operating around the party in the name of progressivism like a kind of cartel—I believe it is time to put an end to this.]

[Jung Cheong-rae / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate: (Candidate Kim Min-seok) seems very accustomed to going beyond conspiracy theories under the guise of questions, reaching the level of political maneuvering.]

An-won debate also unfolded between candidates Song Young-gil and Jung Cheong-rae regarding the national tasks of the Lee Jae-myung administration.

[Song Young-gil / Democratic Party Leadership Candidate: (The Lee Jae-myung administration's first national task) being the end of civil strife is practically the number one pledge of the Rebuilding Korea Party. I cannot help but think that (Candidate Jung Cheong-rae) was 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 task number 50? (Pardon?) What is national task number 50?]

The Democratic Party will hold regional primaries in Honam on the 15th and in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province on the 16th, followed by the national convention on the 17th, where it will finalize the next party leader based on total votes including 30 percent public opinion poll results.

(Photo: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing: Jeon Min-gyu)