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Presidential candidates to face off in 2nd TV debate

Published: 23 May. 2025, 11:33

From left to right: Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, Kwon Young-gook of the minor Korean Democratic Labor Party, Lee Jun-seok of the minor Reform Party and Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party pose for a photo ahead of their first televised debate on May 18. [YONHAP]

Four presidential candidates were set to wrangle over social issues in their second TV debate on Friday, with the June 3 election just 11 days away.

As the election campaign passed its halfway point, opinion polls still put Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung in front, but the gap between Lee and People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo had slightly narrowed this week.

Lee Jun-seok of the minor Reform Party garnered his first double-digit support, as Kim continued to appeal the Reform Party candidate to merge their candidacies to better challenge the DP's Lee.

On Thursday, Lee Jun-seok declared that he would not drop his candidacy until Election Day.

The three candidates and Kwon Young-gook of the minor Korean Democratic Labor Party will take part in the debate at 8 p.m., hosted by the National Election Commission.

During the debate, the candidates will discuss ways to bridge social divisions and promote national unity, as well as pension and health care reforms and climate change.

The DP's Lee is expected to highlight his vision of becoming a leader capable of bridging ideological and regional divides as he has previously mentioned social cohesion as a top duty of the president.

Kim of the PPP is likely to stress his personal integrity by drawing contrast with his DP rival, who is mired in multiple legal controversies, and to criticize Lee's policy vision of a "basic society" as populist.

Lee Jun-seok is also expected to target the DP candidate by bringing up his controversies, which include election law violation and misuse of public funds.

During the debate, Kim and the Lee Jun-seok may spar over the possibility of their candidacy merger.

The upcoming election will choose a successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over a botched martial law attempt in December.

Yonhap