DP CANDIDATES CLASH AT TV DEBATE

[Anchor Lead]

Ahead of next year’s presidential election, presidential aspirants are moving fast to take the precedence over their rivals. In the ruling camp, disputes are mounting surrounding their past personal affairs. In the second TV debate, the two leading hopefuls Lee Jae-myung and Lee Nak-yon clashed over the proposal to set up an internal panel tasked with vetting candidates’ credentials.

[Pkg]

One of the key issues in Wednesday’s TV debate was a proposal by some candidates to set up a party panel to look into Lee Jae-myung’s drunk driving allegations.

[Soundbite] Kim Doo-kwan(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "This is not an issue Governor Lee Jae-myung should feel upset over, since we  will face more intensive screening and criticism from the main opposition People Power Party."

In particular, Lee Nak-yon pressured the Gyeonggi-do Province governor in a roundabout way, noting he had previously held city officials responsible for driving under the influence while serving as the mayor of Seongnam city.

[Soundbite] Lee Nak-yon(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "Have you ever considered applying the very same strict standards to yourself?"

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "It seems you want to bring up my record of paying the penalty for driving under the influence. I apologize for that. I am sorry."

Choo Mi-ae put the brakes on the joint offensive against Lee Jae-myung.

[Soundbite] Choo Mi-ae(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "It is not right to target and corner a specific candidate to distract and confuse us, like this."

In return, the Gyeonggi-do governor questioned Lee Nak-yon about what achievements he had made as prime minister.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "When you were asked to grade the Moon Jae-in government, you gave a score of 70, as if you were talking about other people’s business."

[Soundbite] Lee Nak-yon(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "Now you are describing me as incompetent. But the government’s approval rating was the highest when I was prime minister."

Another candidate tried to hold in check Lee Nak-yon who has been promoting his legitimacy as the political heir of the liberal bloc.

[Soundbite] Chung Sye-kyun(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "You harshly denounced President Roh Moo-hyun, defining his administration as a failure marked by incompetence and immaturity."

Park Yong-jin again criticized Lee Jae-myung for promising to provide lavish universal government subsidies if he is elected president.

[Soundbite] Park Yong-jin(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "I think candidate Lee Jae-myung would undoubtedly take the gold in a competition about squandering government budget and tax money."

On political reform, Chung Sye-kyun and Choo Mi-ae advocated a constitutional amendment to allow the president to serve two four-year terms. Lee Nak-yon and Lee Jae-myung proposed the introduction of a system enabling the recall of lawmakers. Kim Doo-kwan and Park Yong-jin stressed decentralization and the need to give greater power to local governments.