Today's Presidential Election Watershed..3rd TV Debate 'Final Showdown'

[Financial News] The final 3rd TV debate, which will be a 'watershed in the presidential election', will take place on the 27th. This debate will be held at the MBC studio in Sangam-dong, Seoul, from 8 to 10 PM, with politics as the topic of discussion.
The 3rd debate is expected to have a significant impact on the final choice of centrist and undecided voters. As the departure of the centrist group, which has favored Lee Jaemyung of the Democratic Party, has become noticeable recently, a final showdown is expected. In this presidential election, the proportion of the centrist group reaches 20~35%. Securing the centrist group, which accounts for more than a quarter of all voters, is becoming the biggest battleground in this presidential election.
In the previous 1st (economy) and 2nd (society) debates, Kim Moonsu of the People Power Party candidate launched negative attacks on Lee's judicial risks and family, causing considerable damage. Kim is expected to continue this stance and launch a full-scale negative offensive in the final 3rd debate. Lee Junseok of the Reform New Party candidate is also expected to dig into the loopholes of Lee Jaemyung's pledges, questioning "Is there sincerity?" and "Is there a concrete plan?" Lee Jaemyung has publicly announced a policy to appoint a civilian as the Minister of National Defense as part of strengthening civilian control over the military. He intends to reform the Ministry of National Defense, which has been complicit in rebellion. However, some in the People Power Party criticize Lee's proposal, saying, “He doesn’t even know the basic principles of personnel,” and, “Appointing a civilian as the Minister of National Defense is an extension of the Democratic Party’s proposal to appoint a non-lawyer as a Supreme Court Justice.” Lee is expected to focus attacks on Lee Jaemyung through a joint offensive with Kim, as in the 1st and 2nd debates.
Attacks are also expected regarding the Supreme Court judicial reform controversy that has recently been a topic of debate in the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party reviewed a bill to allow non-lawyers to be appointed as Supreme Court Justices and to increase the number of Justices to 100, but suddenly withdrew it on the 26th. In the meantime, Lee Jaemyung stated that he did not directly order the withdrawal of the judicial reform bill, including the 'Supreme Court Justice 100-member election (expansion) plan' proposed by the Democratic Party, causing controversy. It is said that the Democratic Party's election committee decided to withdraw it on its own, fearing the spread of controversy.
Regarding this withdrawal confusion of the Democratic Party, Kwon Seongdong, floor leader of the People Power Party, claims, "Now, ahead of the presidential election, they say they will withdraw to avoid criticism of attempting to dominate the judiciary, but Lee Jaemyung has changed his words more than once," and "I am confident that if elected, he will try again." Furthermore, attacks are expected regarding Lee Jaemyung's intention to pursue constitutional amendments, the lack of realism, and specific roadmaps.
On the other hand, Lee Jaemyung is expected to shift from defensive to full-scale attacks. Whether he will launch negative attacks on the opposing candidates is also of interest.
Lee has continuously held Kim accountable for being part of the rebellion cabinet.
The Democratic Party has attacked Kim, who was part of the Yoon Seokyeol government cabinet, claiming he is unqualified as a presidential candidate. However, Kim has only apologized and not taken responsibility. Instead, Kim has shown opposition to and defended former President Yoon's impeachment. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Han Deoksoo, former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sangmok, and former Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sangmin were all questioned as suspects of rebellion by the police throughout the previous day. Lee Jaemyung may bring up the fact that Kim Moonsu, who was part of the Yoon Seokyeol cabinet, could also be subject to a rebellion investigation as a reference after the presidential election.
Additionally, attacks regarding the political power trade allegations between the People Power Party and the Reform New Party are also of interest.
There are suspicions of a secret deal for party power between Kim Moonsu and Lee Junseok regarding their unification. The final deadline for unification is until the day before early voting starts, tomorrow (28th).
It has been revealed that Lee Junseok had a phone call related to unification with political broker Myung Taegyun recently. The fact that Lee Junseok had a call with Myung Taegyun, who is under investigation for the nomination scandal, on the 21st has been publicly disclosed.
The fact of the call between the two was revealed when Lee was having a Q&A session with reporters after attending a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on the 22nd. Lee admitted to having a call regarding unification with Myung Taegyun when a reporter asked a surprise question. However, despite the fact that the call regarding unification between Lee Junseok and Myung Taegyun is a good opportunity, the Democratic Party has not launched an offensive so far. Whether Lee Jaemyung will mention it in the final 3rd debate is becoming a point of interest.
Meanwhile, this debate is held during the week, so it is expected that the viewership will be lower than during the 1st and 2nd debates. The viewership rate has already shown a downward trend from 19.6% in the 1st (Sunday) to 18.4% in the 2nd (Friday). Many predict that the 3rd (Tuesday) will be even lower. During weekday evenings, the main viewing audience, including office workers and students, have limited TV viewing time due to commuting, dinner, overtime, and academy. Instead, online clip viewing on platforms like YouTube and portals, which young voters prefer, may increase.


rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyungsoo Reporter