Oh Se-hoon Expands 'Points of Contact' with Seoul City Council and District Mayors

Request for Cooperation in 'Oh Se-hoon Style' Administration Including Real Estate Official Price Improvement

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is attending the Cabinet meeting held via video on the morning of the 13th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 14th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will hold a series of meetings with the Seoul Metropolitan Council and autonomous districts, where the Democratic Party of Korea holds an absolute majority. This is the first face-to-face meeting with the district mayors since Mayor Oh took office.

On the morning of the same day, Mayor Oh will visit the City Council for the second time since his inauguration to hold a policy consultation with Chairman Kim In-ho and other council leaders. In the afternoon, he plans to meet with the executive members of the Seoul District Mayors' Council in his office. Mayor Oh's visit to the City Council is interpreted as a move to gain support from the council, where the Democratic Party holds 101 out of 110 seats, for his administration. The meeting will be held privately, during which Mayor Oh is expected to explain the purpose and request cooperation from the council leaders regarding issues such as the improvement of official real estate prices and the controversy over the reconsideration of the Gwanghwamun restructuring project.

Following this, Mayor Oh will have his first meeting with the District Mayors' Council. Attendees are expected to include Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong District and president of the council, Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon District and secretary-general, and Jung Won-ho, Mayor of Seongdong District and auditor. During this meeting, Mayor Oh is also expected to request cooperation for his so-called ‘Oh Se-hoon-style’ administration.

Currently, among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, 24 district mayors belong to the Democratic Party of Korea, except for Seocho District. Like the City Council, the autonomous districts are also a challenge Mayor Oh must overcome. For stable governance of Seoul, it is crucial to inform and gain cooperation from frontline local governments responsible for implementing major policies. Except for Jo Eun-hee, the only People Power Party district mayor of Seocho, the other district mayors are very unlikely to actively support Mayor Oh’s campaign pledges.

Since this is the first meeting, it is expected that sharp confrontations over the direction of city administration will be unlikely. Previously, the City Council, where the Democratic Party holds an absolute majority, decided to postpone the investigation into Mayor Oh’s ‘Naegok-dong land suspicion,’ avoiding conflict. The Democratic Party in the City Council decided not to submit the administrative audit agenda related to the Naegok-dong land suspicion to the plenary session on the 19th, postponing it to the June plenary session. A Seoul city official explained, "This meeting between Mayor Oh and the District Mayors' Council was held at the mayor’s request to strengthen communication and cooperation between the city and autonomous districts."