South Korea Kicks Off Presidential Debates with Heated Exchanges

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - South Korea's two presidential candidates, Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo, have taken part in the first of three televised debates as their race to replace former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was ousted in April over his controversial move to declare martial law, intensifies.

According to Aljazeera, Yoon's ouster has sparked political turmoil in South Korea, with snap elections set for June 3.

During Sunday's heated debate, Lee - who is the main opposition Democratic Party candidate and the front-runner in the race - faced criticism for being too friendly towards China.

He commented that South Korea should not get involved in the China-Taiwan dispute.

However, Lee said South Korea should not put all its energy into its alliance with the United States. He also called for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Lee said that managing relations between China and Russia was important, but he stressed that security cooperation with the US and Japan was necessary.

Lee also advocated prioritizing South Korea’s interests in response to US tariffs, more investment in artificial intelligence (AI), protection for unionized workers, and a four-and-a-half-day workweek.

He said Seoul should not rush to reach a trade deal with Washington.

South Korea has already started trade talks with the US and is seeking relief from the 25 percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on the country in April.

Seoul then became one of the first countries to hold face-to-face talks with Washington, following in Japan’s footsteps.

“I think we need to prepare well for this situation carefully and competently,” Lee said.

He also argued that South Korea needs to develop high-tech industries and renewable energy to address low economic growth.

“We will focus on developing so-called sovereign AI so that our people can at least use something like ChatGPT for free like an electronic calculator,” he said.

In contrast to Lee, Kim, the candidate of the conservative People Power Party, has promised to create jobs and deregulate to boost business.

Kim also pledged to create a government agency dedicated to regulatory innovation and invest more than 5 percent of the budget in research and development.

Asia's fourth-largest economy contracted in the first quarter as exports and consumption stalled, amid concerns over the impact of Washington's aggressive tariffs and political turmoil at home.

Lee led with 51 percent support in the latest Gallup Korea poll released Friday, CNA reported. Kim trailed far behind with 29 percent.

Lee called for constitutional reform earlier in the day to allow for a four-year, two-term presidential term and a two-round system for presidential elections through referendums.

South Korean presidents currently serve one five-year term.

Lee also pledged to limit the president's right to declare martial law and hold accountable those responsible for the Dec. 3 announcement.

Former President Yoon claimed at the time he declared martial law that anti-state and North Korean forces had infiltrated the government.

However, senior military and police officials sent to shut down the country's National Assembly have testified that he ordered them to detain rival politicians and prevent the assembly from voting to revoke his military rule.

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