The five presidential candidates backed by the main parliamentary parties will participate in the second round of live televised debates Wednesday.

Hosted by the Korean Broadcasting System, the two-hour debate will be conducted in the form of a standing debate for the first time, during which the participants will debate standing up. The candidates cannot be aided with any reference materials, but paper will be provided for note taking.
 

As with the previous debate, the participants will be Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea, Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party, Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the Justice Party.

Wednesday’s debate is expected to allow the candidates to make their case and provide more detailed accounts of their views and policy proposals.

In the first debate last week, Reps. Yoo and Sim -- the two least popular candidates -- were considered to have stood out, with their focused delivery of their policy visions.

The debate will be divided into two sessions, with the first dealing with foreign affairs and national security. The second segment will deal with education, social issues and culture.

After the KBS debate, the contenders face four more debates, with three organized by the National Election Commission.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)