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From left, presidential candidates Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party, Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party, and Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party pose for a commemorative photo ahead of the first presidential debate for the 21st election at the SBS Prism Center studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul, on May 18. / Source: National Assembly Press Corps

In the first televised debate for the June 3 presidential election, held on May 18 at the SBS Prism Center in Sangam-dong, Seoul, the three leading candidates—Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, and Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party—made their appeals to voters while outlining their visions to tackle low growth and revive the economy.

Addressing the topic of “Overcoming Low Growth and Reviving the People’s Economy,” Kim Moon-soo pledged sweeping deregulation to enable businesses to create better jobs.

“To reinvigorate the economy, we will ensure that self-employed small business owners—those most sensitive to economic shifts—can keep their jobs,” Kim said. “We’ll provide robust support to boost consumption, restructure small business debt, and expand financial assistance.”

He also promised targeted support for the struggling construction industry, saying, “The construction sector has recently been hit hard. We will prepare special measures to support it.”

Lee Jun-seok, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of science and engineering talent. “Once lagging behind, China is now catching up with us—and in some areas, even overtaking us—threatening our future growth engines,” he said. “A socialist country like China has elevated engineers and chemical scientists to national leadership.”

Highlighting his own credentials, Lee added, “Unlike others, I come from a science and engineering background. To beat China, we need not only a deep understanding of technology, but also competent leadership capable of engaging freely with world leaders.”