Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate, and Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party candidate, clashed over diplomatic and security strategies. Kim said of Lee, "Based on the remarks Lee has made so far, it is horrendous from the U.S. perspective," while Lee responded, "The Korea-U.S. alliance is the fundamental axis of our country’s diplomacy."

Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, is attending the candidate debate for the 21st presidential election organized by the Central Election Broadcasting Debate Committee at the SBS Prism Tower in Mapo, Seoul on Nov. 18. On the left is Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate. /Courtesy of News1

The two candidates made these remarks during the TV debate for the 21st presidential candidates organized by the Central Election Debate Committee on the 18th.

Kim stated that Lee's claim to withdraw the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) during his time as mayor of Seongnam and the conversation he had with the then Chinese ambassador to South Korea, Xing Haiming, during his tenure as party leader demonstrated, "Based on the remarks Lee has made so far, it is horrendous from the U.S. perspective."

He further expressed concern, saying, "I worry a lot about what Lee thinks of U.S. President Donald Trump."

Lee responded by saying, "The Korea-U.S. alliance is the fundamental axis of our country’s diplomacy," and emphasized that "it should continue to expand and develop from a security alliance to an economic and comprehensive alliance."

He also emphasized the importance of relations with China and Russia, stating, "That doesn’t mean we should completely depend on the Korea-U.S. alliance," and added, "We don’t need to completely exclude or be adversarial toward relations with China or Russia."

He then noted, "Always approach it practically with a focus on national interests."

In response, Kim asked, "Aren’t the U.S. and China not at the same level? China was our enemy during the Korean War. It doesn’t mean that both Russia and China are equally important, does it?"

Lee replied, "We should certainly consider the weighting, and I’m not saying we should treat the U.S., China, and Russia the same."

He continued, "It is clear that we need to develop and deepen the Korea-U.S. alliance. Also, the Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation system and security cooperation are absolutely necessary," but he cautioned, "That doesn’t mean we should go all in on that."

Lee emphasized that "the relationship with China and Russia is also important for us, so it must be managed well," and said, "Stop making extremes. Diplomacy needs to be approached flexibly, practically, and realistically."