Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate for the People Power Party, expressed a positive stance on May 20 regarding the proposal by emergency response committee chairperson Kim Yong-tae for a live TV debate involving the spouses of presidential candidates. His reason was that the “spousal risk is just like the presidential risk, so it should be scrutinized.”
After attending a policy agreement ceremony at the Federation of Artistic & Cultural Organization of Korea in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, Kim met with reporters and stated, “I wasn’t the one who proposed it first, but I don’t think there’s a particular reason to refuse.” He added, “Since the spouses are those who are already in the public eye, if verification is needed, it should be done, and isn’t debating a basic thing?”
Kim further explained, “While candidate verification is fundamental, the public also needs to know about the spouse or family aspect,” adding that “voting with knowledge leads to accurate voting.”
However, Kim mentioned that if Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung were to refuse, “There wouldn’t be a way if the other party doesn’t participate.”
Earlier, Kim Yong-tae, emergency response committee chairperson of the People Power Party, held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly, proposing a live TV debate for presidential candidates’ spouses. He explained that while the social influence of the presidential spouse is significant, the scrutiny is severely lacking. He cited the inadequate legal regulations and systems regarding the role of the First Lady as the reason for proposing the debate. However, Lee candidate refused by saying, “The sacred ground of sovereignty should not be trivialized or turned into an event.”