Busan Bukgap Debate Turns into Fierce Verification Battle... Birthplace, Campaign Sponsors, and Party Bulletin Board Issues All Raised

Park Min-sik: "Ha Jung-woo from Buk-gu? Buk-gu didn't exist back then"

Ha Jung-woo: "Campaign sponsor Chung Hyung-geun? Who recommended him?"

Han Dong-hoon: "If you support conservative renewal, anyone can join forces"

The debate for the Bukgap by-election in Busan turned into a fierce battle. The candidates' birthplaces, the identities of their campaign sponsors, and their past records were all discussed during the debate.

At the Bukgap debate broadcast by KNN and organized by the Busan City Election Commission on the 28th, the candidates launched aggressive attacks, emphasizing the importance of verification.

Park Minsik, the People Power Party candidate, targeted Ha Jungwoo of the Democratic Party of Korea, claiming that Ha had "artificially created a connection to Buk-gu, Busan." Park argued, "Buk-gu did not exist in October 1977 when Ha was born," and pointed out, "If you write 'born in Buk-gu' on your business card, it's a violation of the law." In response, Ha countered, "To the best of my memory, it was Gwaebeop-dong, Buk-gu," and questioned, "Does this kind of question help the development of Buk-gu?" Park added, "Many graduates of Sasang Elementary School (which we attended together) now live in Buk-gu."

On the afternoon of the 28th, at the Busan MBC in Dong-gu, Busan, during the candidate debate for the Bukgap by-election, Ha Jungwoo of the Democratic Party of Korea (from left), independent candidate Han Donghoon, and Park Minsik of the People Power Party shouted "Fighting" ahead of the debate. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The campaign sponsor for Han Donghoon also became a focal point. Regarding the fact that former lawmaker Jung Hyungkeun, who was once a public prosecutor, is serving as Han's campaign sponsor, Ha criticized, "Isn't the campaign sponsor a symbolic figure?" and argued, "By appointing Jung as your sponsor, aren't you trying to return to the era of Chun Doo-hwan?" Ha continued, "You have appointed someone who is considered the origin of ideological labeling and political prosecutors as your sponsor. Who recommended him?" He further claimed, "There are reports that Han's father-in-law has close ties to Jung." In response, Han said, "You shouldn't make such reckless statements," and explained, "I recruited former lawmaker Jung because, during his three terms, he was evaluated as having contributed to regional development. My intention is to work with people who can contribute to the community." He added, "By showing that a figure symbolic of staunch conservatism is joining Han Donghoon's conservative rebuilding effort, I want to demonstrate that anyone who agrees with the direction of conservative reconstruction can join us."

Past controversies surrounding Han's tenure as People Power Party leader, specifically issues involving the party member bulletin board, were also raised during the debate. When Ha mentioned allegations of identity theft in connection to the bulletin board issue, Han responded, "I didn't expect Ha, though maybe Park, to bring this up," and stated, "I have made it clear that there was no identity theft." Park later brought up the issue as well, saying, "There are claims that Han's family members used offensive language, such as calling someone a 'dog collar.' This incident inflicted significant wounds among conservative supporters." In response, Han countered, "What are you doing spreading false information? Neither I nor my family have ever used the term 'dog collar.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.