The three major presidential candidates clashed over issues on the economy and science and technology in the second of three scheduled televised debates Tuesday night. In the two-hour primetime debate, Lee Hoi-chang of the conservative Grand National Party, Roh Moo-hyun of the pro-government Millennium Democratic Party, and the Democratic Labor Party's Kwon Young-ghil debated over the economy's growth outlook for the coming years the opening of the market to foreign competition and the relocation of the administrative capital.

Members of the participating political camps sat on the sidelines rooting for their candidate, who showed no sign of relenting in their offensives.

Analysts say the television debates are expected to have a major influence on some of the undecided electorate, who are estimated to take up at least a quarter of the country's 35 million voters. The third and final debate, focusing on social and cultural issues, will be held on Monday, December 16.

In related news, with eight days to go to the presidential vote the nation's leading contenders held a press conference Wednesday morning to highlight their policies and campaign pledges. The GNP's Lee unveiled his top 10 promises including freezing university tuitions until there are signs of recovery in the unemployment market, and lowering service charges for credit defaults and cash advances amid a surge in the number of people with bad credit records.

Meanwhile, the MDP's Roh vowed to make transparent decisions in personnel appointments to promote national unity. While rooting out favoritism in government appointments, Roh pledged to deal sternly with scandals and mismanagement involving members of the current administration if elected president.

(Arirang TV)