Yoon and Lee again exchange fire on key allegations during TV debate

The two major presidential candidates again dedicated much of their given times on a televised debate Friday night to denounce each other on key allegations, as the tight race continues between them with less than two weeks left until voting day.

Presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party concentrated fire on voicing claims that Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is the mastermind behind the controversial land development scandal currently under prosecutorial investigation.

Yoon cited the documents that the People Power Party newly unveiled to the press to claim that Lee personally signed documents giving approvals to parts of the project, adding the evidence also shows that Lee maintained a close ring of corrupt figures who unfairly benefit from the construction.

Lee responded that Yoon is instead the mastermind behind the scandal, as some of the leaked transcripts of dialogues between key figures of the scandal mention Yoon as a problematic figure. The ruling party candidate added that Yoon has a history of being lenient in some investigative cases while serving as a prosecutor.

The battle got fierce enough for Yoon to liken Lee Jae-myung to Lee Wan-yong, one of the most infamous pro-Japanese collaborators. By contrast, Yoon likened himself to Ahn Jung-geun, one of the most well-known independence activists in Korean history.

By Ko Jun-tae (ko.juntae@heraldcorp.com)