The main candidates for the June 3 presidential election clashed from the early part of the last TV debate on the 27th. Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, urged voter participation, saying, "We need to overcome the rebellion," while Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate from the People Power Party, pleaded, "We must stop the bulletproof dictatorship."
In the opening remarks of the debate themed "politics" held at 8 p.m. on that day at the MBC studio in Mapo-gu, Seoul, candidate Lee Jae-myung stated, "The day of the first debate was 45 years ago when the martial law troops entered Gwangju. Interestingly, today, the 27th, is also the last day when the martial law troops raided the Jeonnam Provincial Office where they had been stationed in Gwangju, killing our martial law troops."
He said, "Bullets are strong, but they are weaker than votes," and added, "Please make sure to participate in this election to restore the people's sovereignty and overcome the rebellion."
Candidate Kim noted, "There's a saying about 'the thief hitting the police with their own baton.'" Targeting Lee Jae-myung, he said, "The bulletproof dictatorship, where a criminal seeks to make themselves bulletproof through dictatorship, is something I've never heard of before."
He remarked, "Just because someone has been convicted, they say they will impeach the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and conduct a special probe. They even impeached the prosecutor who indicted them."
He emphasized that "How could it be, former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, who represented the Democratic Party, declared that he would support me to stop this monstrous bulletproof dictatorship. Despite being someone very distant from the People Power Party, he came out to support me."
Lee Jun-seok, a candidate, emphasized generational change. He said, "This election is about pushing back both the 'irrational forces' that support martial law and the 'anti-principle forces' that seduce with populism, and reclaiming principles and common sense. We cannot fill the space left by 'red Yoon Seok-youl' with 'blue Yoon Seok-youl.'"
He continued, "Please entrust the future of Korea to a new beginning like a crescent moon," and stated, "We will achieve political change, generational change, and epochal change simultaneously."
Kwon Young-guk, a candidate from the Democratic Labor Party, said, "During elections, they bow and plead for votes, but that politics has not actually represented the youth," and assured, "Your life can change, and I promise to be on your side."