| Four presidential candidates hold hands with each other before their third and last TV debate held at KBS studio in Seoul, Wednesday. From left are Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party, Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party and Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Yonhap |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
An unexpected debate on feminism erupted during a TV debate among four presidential candidates held at KBS studio in Seoul, Wednesday. The four are ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) Lee Jae-myung, the main opposition People Power Party's (PPP) Yoon Suk-yeol, the minor center-right People's Party's Ahn Cheol-soo and Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung.
In the third and last TV debate before the March 9 presidential election, the candidates presented their visions regarding a range of social policies, including welfare, birthrates and ageing society and pressed each other to clarify their stances on certain issues.
The DPK's Lee initiated the debate on feminism when he took the floor. Mentioning Yoon's past remarks about feminism, Lee accused the rival candidate of his remarks blaming feminism as one of the main causes of Korea's falling birthrate.
Yoon made the remarks in August 2021 during a lecture for several first-term PPP lawmakers. Back then, Yoon was critical of some politicians who tried to use feminism to get elected.
“When we say feminism, we are supposed to be engaged in a healthy debate about the topic. But there are some who tried to use it for their own political careers and reelection. As a result of this, what happens is that the feminism discourse stands in the way of relationships between men and women,” Yoon said.
His remarks caused a stir and Yoon apologized for his comments later, saying they were inappropriate.
During the TV debate on Wednesday, Lee asked Yoon to state his definition of feminism.
Yoon said his definition of feminism is respecting women and treating them equally with men so they can receive the same respect that men enjoy.
Lee confronted the PPP candidate and claimed he did not fully understand the meaning of feminism. Then the DPK candidate lectured Yoon by pointing out that feminism refers to an array of collective efforts to correct discrimination and inequalities women face.
Yoon's definition of feminism drew a laughter from Justice Party candidate Sim. She accused Yoon of confusing feminism with humanism.