Kim Moon-soo and Han Dong-hoon, candidates who advanced to the final two of the People Power Party's primary, engaged in a psychological battle regarding the potential unification with Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo during the final debate on the 30th.
Candidate Han took a stance against Candidate Kim, who had shown an active position on the unification discussions with Han Duck-soo, mentioning the "possibility of candidate concession," while Candidate Kim countered, stating, "There must be justification to concede."
However, the debate over martial law and impeachment between the representatives of the anti-impeachment faction and pro-impeachment faction, Kim Moon-soo and Han Dong-hoon, did not emerge as expected.
◇ The key topics of the debate were "Han Duck-soo" and "big tent"
During the debate hosted by TV Chosun that day, Candidate Han asked Candidate Kim, "If you become the final candidate, will you be willing to concede your candidacy to Acting President Han?" Candidate Kim responded, "If the candidate chosen by the party members and the public concedes, there must be justification; the question itself is not persuasive."
However, Candidate Kim expressed a strong willingness to negotiate unification with Acting President Han. When asked whether the unification with Acting President Han should happen immediately after the party's final candidate is elected, Candidate Kim held up an "O" sign.
Candidate Kim then stated, "If Acting President Han runs as an independent, I will ensure unification in a manner that the public deems appropriate and without delay," emphasizing, "To win against the anti-Lee Jae-myung front, unification must happen with anyone."
In contrast, Candidate Han did not raise either an "O" or "X" sign. Candidate Han stated, "Once I become the final candidate, I will cooperate with anyone, in any way, for our victory," adding, "The People Power Party must focus here (in the primary) now."
The two candidates criticized the old Democratic Party forces, which are demanding changes to the party name, in unison, citing the big tent.
Candidate Han remarked, "There have been reports that former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon's camp demanded that the People Power Party 'change its name,' and the leadership responded that 'promises to change the party name after the presidential election are possible,' which is extremely inappropriate."
Continuing on, Candidate Han added, "Seeing figures like former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon or Chung Dae-chul, the chairman of the Korean Constitutional Association (former Democratic Party lawmaker), demanding to change our party name for the sake of the big tent makes me feel a great deal of pain, as I believe our 770,000 party members would feel deeply humiliated."
Candidate Kim also agreed with Candidate Han's opinion, stating, "Even if our party is facing various difficulties and confusion, the basics must be upheld." Candidate Kim related to Candidate Han's assertion that "the center of the big tent must be the People Power Party."
◇ Battling over 'megapolis' and 'virtual assets'
In the policy debate, Candidate Kim continued his criticism of Candidate Han's pledge of 'five megacities within two years,' which followed the 'four powerful' debate on the 26th.
Candidate Kim pointed out, "Urban planning takes considerable time. If that is not taken into account, the pledge becomes a fictitious 'empty' promise," adding, "Moreover, Candidate Han promised to serve only three years as president and complete the megacities in two years. It must be a realizable pledge that residents can trust and believe. "
Candidate Han responded, "The megacity is not about building a new city like Bundang or Ilsan, but rather focuses on concentrating the industry and residences in the city to naturally increase that demand."
Candidate Han criticized Candidate Kim's pledge to allow 'virtual asset investments such as national pension funds' by stating, "It is extremely risky," pointing out, "Given the volatility of virtual assets, the national pension must be maintained conservatively."
Candidate Kim countered, "Even former U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned that he would do that," adding, "In our country, we need to involve investment experts in virtual assets to collaboratively establish a system at a reasonable level."
The two candidates also clashed over the 'nuclear deterrence' method. Both candidates agreed on maintaining nuclear potential through rotating deployment of strategic assets like nuclear-powered submarines rather than possessing nuclear weapons. However, Candidate Kim stated that South Korea and the U.S. should jointly construct nuclear-powered submarines, while Candidate Han expressed negative views, stating that equipping South Korean submarines with nuclear weapons would signify self-armed nuclear power.
In the blind assessment of housing and childcare policies aimed at a panel of 16 young evaluators, Candidate Han effectively achieved a 'decisive victory.' Candidate Han revealed plans to completely abolish LTV (Loan-to-Value ratio) regulations for young individuals and exempt acquisition tax as a direct approach to reducing the housing purchase burden for youth, garnering unanimous support from the 16-member panel. Meanwhile, Candidate Kim proposed supplying '50,000 housing units for young people and 150,000 for newlyweds,' but received criticism for being less pragmatic.
To finalize the presidential candidate among Kim and Han, the People Power Party will conduct a member vote on March 1-2, weighing member votes at 50% and public opinion polls at 50%. The results will determine and announce the final candidate at the party convention on May 3 in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.