Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Presidential candidates clash over lessons of Ukraine attack
Candidates running for the March 9 presidential election pose before their fourth TV debate at broadcaster SBS' studio in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Friday. From left are Justice Party presidential candidate Sim Sang-jung, People's Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung. Joint Press corps
By Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
Rival presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) clashed over their differing views of the lessons of Russia's attack on Ukraine during their TV debate, Friday. The DPK's Lee Jae-myung stressed a leader's diplomatic capability, while the PPP's Yoon Suk-yeol highlighted military deterrence to facilitate peace on the Korean Peninsula.
“A novice politician who only has six months of political experience became the country's leader and caused a major clash by inciting Russia with a hasty promise of Ukraine's NATO admission,” Lee said of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was an actor and comedian before he was elected as the country's leader in April 2019.
“This is an example of a diplomatic failure. Yoon is too aggressive and rough in his diplomatic remarks, such as his pledge to establish South Korea's capability to launch preemptive strikes (against North Korea).”
Lee's comment came after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Sunday. Along with international condemnation of Russia's moves, criticism is also mounting over Zelenskyy's diplomatic miscalculation, which is being blamed for steering his country towards a clash with Russia.
On the other hand, PPP candidate Yoon criticized Ukraine's reliance on diplomatic agreements to maintain peace and emphasized the importance of military power and strong alliances to guarantee national security.
“You can only prevent war when you have the capability for preemptive strikes and have the intent to do so … I believe the case of Ukraine shows that you cannot protect national security and peace with paper and ink,” Yoon said, referring to the Minsk agreements or a series of pacts that sought to end fighting with Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
“Candidate Lee and the current DPK administration stress the importance of an end-of-war declaration with North Korea, which will be done only on paper with ink. With North Korea refusing to give up its nuclear program, pushing forward the end-of-war declaration is the same as the case of Ukraine.”
The end-of-war declaration is President Moon Jae-in's proposal to have the two Koreas, the U.S. and China declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War. Lee supports that idea, claiming it can lead to the resumption of stalled inter-Korean talks, while Yoon is against it, citing Pyongyang's escalating threats.
Lee and Yoon displayed stark differences in their diplomatic philosophies.
Lee stresses pragmatism in solving most pending diplomatic issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula, while Yoon has a clearer stance of enhancing Seoul's military deterrence and diplomatic presence through stronger ties with the U.S.
During the debate, People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo said South Korea should engage sincerely in talks with North Korea, but stressed that Seoul needs to be staunch in its opposition to Pyongyang's nuclear program and other provocations. He floated the idea of a nuclear sharing treaty between South Korea and the U.S. as a deterrent against the North.
Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung expressed doubts over Yoon's pledge to establish a preemptive strike capability, saying that proper deterrence is getting North Korea to acknowledge that using nuclear weapons will bring devastation.
Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, bumps fists with People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol before their fourth TV debate at broadcaster SBS' studio in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Friday. Joint Press Corps
Over political reforms, Lee strived to court Ahn and Sim to join his idea of a coalition government based on a multi-party system, by agreeing to most of their political reform pledges, such as weakening the president's authority and preventing a party from gaining dominance.
A day earlier, the DPK announced a package of political reforms, allowing the National Assembly to recommend a prime minister and enabling the president to serve two four-year terms by amending the Constitution. The DPK also suggested a multi-party system, in which several parties across the political spectrum have control over the government under a coalition or separately.
But Yoon expressed his doubts over Lee's efforts to embrace Ahn and Sim.
“With the election taking place in 10 days, the DPK's political reform idea is inappropriate and an insincere trick to overshadow the public's yearning for a leadership change,” Yoon said.
This was the second TV debate between the four candidates hosted by the National Election Commission, and the fourth televised debate between them.