Park Geun-hye, the leading presidential hopeful of the ruling Saenuri Party, came under attack from rivals in her party over history, her economic policy and other issues in their first televised debate on Tuesday.
Yim Tae-hee, former chief of staff to President Lee Myung-bak, questioned Park's ability to bring reconciliation to the country, citing her recent controversial comment on her father Park Chung-hee's military coup in 1961.
South Korea has long been divided along political and ideological fault lines. The military coup is still one of the most divisive issues in a country where conservatives credit the late Park for South Korea's economic development, while critics call him a dictator.
Park recently said her father made "the best possible choice" in an unavoidable situation and his coup laid the foundation for South Korea's rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War to become Asia's fourth-largest economy.
On Tuesday, Park claimed that more than half of those surveyed in a recent poll supported her view of history and said the nation would not be reconciled if politicians remain mired in the dispute.
"If politicians neglect the future and continue to do something that history should do, will this bring reconciliation?" Park asked in the national TV debate with four rival candidates.
Park is considered a favorite in the five-way race that also includes Yim, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo, former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Tae-ho and former Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo. She has long been a front-runner in opinion polls for the December presidential election.
Park also dismissed as politically offensive an allegation by Ahn that she is "an axis of conflict between dictatorship and democracy." She said she was named the best candidate who could reconcile the country, citing a separate poll. She did not elaborate on details of the two polls.
Kim Moon-soo argued that Park's recent policy commitment to switching a key tenet of her possible presidency from concern for the nation to that of people means she is pursuing "populism" that will pit the nation against the people. Park rejected Kim's notion.
The ruling party is scheduled to select its presidential nominee at a national convention on Aug. 20.
President Lee's single five-year term ends in February and by law, he cannot seek re-election. (Yonhap)