Oh Se-hoon "Wants an Early Meeting with Ahn... Candidate No. 2 Has the Advantage"

Former lawmaker Oh Se-hoon, who was selected as the People Power Party's candidate for Seoul mayor, is delivering his acceptance speech at the announcement event for the 4.7 by-election Seoul and Busan mayoral candidate primary results held at the People Power Party Central Party Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 4th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Geum and Juni Park] Oh Se-hoon, the final candidate for Seoul mayor from the People Power Party, has expressed a desire for a prompt meeting with Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party. However, he proposed that Ahn take the ballot number 2.

On the 4th, at a press conference held at the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Oh stated, "Personally, I want to meet (Ahn) as soon as possible."

Oh has repeatedly shown a strong will for opposition unification. In his acceptance speech that day, he emphasized, "I will definitely achieve unification," adding, "An election on April 7 with a divided opposition is a path to self-defeat."

At the press conference, he also said, "Unification is very important," and "If we keep the spirit of cooperation until the end and approach unification, I think the public will find it pleasing and satisfactory."

In a situation where preventing opposition division is crucial, he proposed ballot number 2 to Ahn. This is because the voter turnout in by-elections tends to be relatively low, making organizational strength more important. Oh explained, "No matter what variables arise, unifying and, if possible, running with ballot number 2 and actively campaigning would be advantageous in defeating Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party candidate. I hope Ahn makes this decision," adding, "Then it would be a win-win situation, mutually helpful and beneficial for the election."

Oh said, "I don’t exactly know if (Ahn) currently prefers number 4," and added, "I’m not sure if this is emphasized by party members or by Ahn himself, but I think it is a topic to be discussed in future negotiations."