PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES’ ACTIVITIES

[Anchor Lead]

The top presidential candidates of the Democratic Party squared off at a televised debate on Tuesday over basic income and disaster relief funds. The People Power Party, meanwhile, has short-listed its candidates to just eight.

[Pkg]

The two leading presidential candidates of the ruling party clashed one-on-one. Lee Nak-yon demanded that Lee Jae-myung scrap his promise of basic income.

[Soundbite] Lee Nak-yon(DP Presidential Candidate) : "Providing basic income to everyone regardless of their income or labor could bring confusion to our policies."

Lee Jae-myung emphasized the necessity of basic income and said those who pay large tax bills should not be excluded.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Presidential Candidate) : "Why should we discriminate between people in the bottom 88 percent and those in the bottom 88.01 percent? I doubt the legitimacy of your notion of ‘Justice.’"

Lee Nak-yon grilled Choo Mi-ae over why she did not fire prosecutor Sohn Jun-seong, embroiled in a political meddling scandal, when she was justice minister. Choo blamed Lee Nak-yon for being swayed by the public when he was the chief of the Democratic Party.

[Soundbite] Choo Mi-ae(DP Presidential Candidate) : "There were people in the party who tried to protect Yoon Seok-youl’s lobbying. They were in Cheong Wa Dae as well. You created that atmosphere."

The People Power Party has short-listed its presidential candidates to eight based on the results of a public poll. They include Yoon Seok-youl and Hong Joon-pyo. Hong, whose approval ratings are going up, dismissed attacks from Yoon’s camp as “negligible.”

[Soundbite] Hong Joon-pyo(PPP Presidential Candidate) : "You should first check out who your opponent is. They are novice attackers."

Yoo Seong-min raised the issue of adjusting the age criteria for juvenile offenders.

[Soundbite] Yoo Seong-min(PPP Presidential Candidate) : "Juvenile offenders’ age should be lowered from 14 to 12 and the Juvenile Act should be overhauled to protect victims and their families."

Won Hee-ryong has pledged to scrap direct elections for education superintendents.Choi Jae-hyung has shut down his camp but says he’s not dropping out of the race.