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| The presidential candidate pose before their first joint TV debate at broadcaster KBS' studio on Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. From left are Sim Sang-jung of the minor Justice Party, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People's Party. Joint Press Corps |
Lee focuses on renewable energies; Yoon prioritizes data technology, AI
By Yi Whan-woo
The presidential candidates showed the differences in their strategies for economic growth in their first joint TV debate last Thursday, setting the scene for the lead-up to the March 9 election.
During the two-hour televised debate, the two main parties' rival candidates ― Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) ― threw jabs at each other over what should be viewed as the next major growth engines to help achieve toughened climate goals and accelerate the digital transformation.
The two minor party candidates ― Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party ― intervened between Lee and Yoon in turn, either downplaying the effectiveness of the policies for inclusive growth proposed by the major candidates or highlighting their own respective strategies as the better ones.
The four candidates were nevertheless on the same page over the need for sweeping reforms of the real estate market ― possibly what interests the voters most after the Moon Jae-in administration's devastating failure to stabilize housing prices.
DPK candidate Lee Jae-myung was deeply interested in renewable energies when it comes to the country's next growth engines, saying that they are "at the core of the industries of the future."
In particular, he prioritizes hydrogen energy, which can be mainly divided into green, blue and grey categories, depending on the methods of production, and in a corresponding manner, asked his PPP rival to share his vision on blue hydrogen during the TV debate.
Yoon downplayed Lee's policy interest, saying that renewable energy is "merely a small part" of a broader group of industries for the future. He argued that data technology, artificial intelligence and biotechnology will be the "centerpiece" instead.
"Of course, renewable energy is needed to reach the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, but it is not a top priority," Yoon told Lee.
Ahn did not vociferously counter Lee and Yoon, but rather, brought up his pledges in the fields of science and engineering and addressed what he called the need to nurture "five unrivaled technologies."
The possible five include displays, secondary batteries, small modular reactors (SMRs), hydrogen energy and biotechnology ― fields in which Korea is ranked in the top tier in terms of global competitiveness.
Sim touched on the inclusive growth policy of Lee, arguing that, although he is from a progressive-minded party, Lee too sticks to the "spillover effect," as embraced by conservatives in the past.
Korea's conservatives use the term "spillover" positively to emphasize tax benefits and other support measures for conglomerates and privileged groups, as they argue that wealth accumulated at the top trickles down to smaller companies and the underprivileged.
Sim noted that policies based on the "spillover" theory have in actuality turned out by and large to benefit only the wealthy, while deepening socioeconomic inequality and marginalization of already vulnerable groups.
"It's extremely regretful that Lee is going backward in his policy," she said.
Vowing to expand housing supply
On real estate reform, all four candidates cited the need to expand the housing supply, holding the Moon administration accountable for current housing demand outpacing supply.
"The incumbent government's real estate policy has a serious shortcoming, and the large-scale supply of homes remains my No. 1 goal," Lee told the TV audience.
Yoon promised to ease mortgage rules that have been tightened under the Moon government ― initially introduced to curb excessive demand for home-backed loans amid the cheap borrowing rates.
"The government has shown no signs of improvement and a change of the administration will be the only way for successful real estate reform," he said.
Sim called for levying a heavier tax on those who own multiple homes.
Ahn proposed adopting a measure that allows homeowners to pay for their homes over a period of 45 years.
The DPK and PPP candidates collided with each other on issues regarding chaebol reform, with Yoon accusing Lee of "being obsessed with dismantling family-owned conglomerates" in order to root out their irregularities.
On the other hand, Lee said that Yoon misunderstands his intention, which is to "dismantle the chaebol system," which does not produce equitable growth across the entire society.
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