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Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said in an interview with the US weekly magazine TIME, “If elected, we will work closer with China (beijing) for the safety of the country.” In relations with North Korea, he stressed, “it is important not to create unnecessary stimuli that increase military tension.”
According to a Time interview released on the 4th, Lee said in relation to China policy, “It is necessary to develop and expand cooperative relations with China,” and “this will be mutually beneficial.” He added, “I will also raise a strong voice to China when necessary.”
Regarding relations with North Korea, Candidate Lee said, “Many wars are caused by overheated and emotional exchanges, not national interests. .
Time noted that despite unprecedented intervention by President Moon Jae-in and former US President Donald Trump in the process, Kim Jong-un still has 60 nuclear bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). It was also mentioned that People’s Strength candidate Yoon Seok-yeol raised the ‘preemptive strike theory’ once morest the Kim Jong-un regime if North Korea’s provocations escalate in January. Candidate Lee dismissed this as a ‘dangerous sound’.
Candidate Lee said that he would use a ‘two-track strategy’ that separates history and economy to improve relations with Japan. Time also added that South Korea-Japan relations had reached the worst (nadir) in the Moon Jae-in administration.
Time mentioned Lee’s self-made story, saying, “It resembles Korea’s growth itself.” This means that the trajectory of Lee’s life is similar to that of Korea’s growth into one of the world’s top 10 economic powerhouses following the Korean War during World War II, and the life trajectory of Lee, who went on to become a presidential candidate following going through industrial accidents as a boy laborer.
As if aimed at his competitor, Candidate Yoon, Lee emphasized, “There are many ways to learn regarding the world, but it is different from reading a book or story and experiencing and experiencing it firsthand.”
Time Internet version capture
Time evaluated the current presidential election in South Korea as “a grubby campaign so far.” He also mentioned the fact that candidate Lee apologized for his son’s illegal gambling problem, his wife Kim Hye-kyung’s illegal protocol, and corporate card misuse during the election process. Yoon’s spouse Kim Gun-hee’s false career, stock price manipulation, and witchcraft controversy were also raised.
Time also reported that “three people around Lee who were involved in the scandal have died” in connection with the suspicion of preferential treatment for development in Daejang-dong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do. “The Lee Jae-myung camp quickly dismissed the fact that their deaths were related to Lee as fake news,” he added.
On the 1st, the interview was conducted over an hour via video with Charlie Campbell, the East Asia bureau chief of Time. A Democratic Party official said, “The fact that Time magazine, which has been conducting interviews and predicting the winner of every Korean presidential election, reported an exclusive interview with Lee, isn’t it evidence that the US political party views this candidate as the most powerful next election?” It is also believed that the evaluation of the US government as a stable leader in foreign affairs and security may also have played a role.”
Time reported that Yoon had turned down a request for an interview.
By Jo Mi-hyeon, staff reporter mwise@hankyung.com
