Candidates respond to Yoon’s exit

[Anchor]

The announcement of Yoon leaving the party just one day before the first TV debate has prompted immediate reactions from candidates of each party.

Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung downplayed it as a political tactic, while Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok targeted candidate Kim Moon-soo.

Kim Bo-dam reports.

[Report]

Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung criticized former President Yoon's departure as a political tactic.

He pointed out that when the People Power Party asked Yoon to leave, he said he would leave temporarily, adding that the People Power Party should have expelled him.

[Lee Jae-myung/Democratic Party Presidential Candidate: "Trying to get by with a makeshift solution is really a problem. If it were about President Yoon Suk Yeol, he should have been expelled."]

The Democratic Party also condemned it as a sham of a disguised departure.

They stated that without reflection and apology regarding the martial law, Yoon's asking for support for candidate Kim Moon-soo only revealed that Kim is indeed a far-right insurrection candidate.

[Hwang Jeong-ah/Democratic Party Spokesperson: "This is a well-orchestrated public deception to create an alibi for the separation between the insurrection leader and the far-right insurrection candidate."]

They also said that the People Power Party will also face judgment for not taking any disciplinary actions against former President Yoon.

Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok emphasized that leaving the party cannot erase the original sin of emergency martial law.

He claimed that, contrary to the expectations of the People Power Party, the departure would not affect the election dynamics.

[Lee Jun-seok/Reform Party Presidential Candidate: "The very appearance of stepping forward as if he's made a great decision will be difficult to influence the moderate voters..."]

Democratic Labor Party candidate Kwon Young-guk pointed out that the People Power Party did not even have the courage to cut out its rotten part.

Candidates Lee Jun-seok and Kwon Young-guk urged candidate Kim Moon-soo to resign, stating that he shares joint responsibility for the martial law and has not properly apologized.

KBS News, Kim Bo-dam.