Oh Se-hoon "Auditing Private Subsidy and Consignment Projects, Announcement Soon"... Civic Groups Urge "Withdrawal of Collaborative Budget Cuts"

"Seoul City Reformation" Denies Criticism of Erasing Park Won-soon... Dismisses as "Democratic Party's Issue in City Council"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who is conducting an audit on civil society private subsidies and consignment projects, announced that he will soon release the audit results.

Mayor Oh appeared at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's national audit held at Seoul City Hall on the 19th and said, "Currently, the Audit Committee is reviewing each case, and once the results come out, there will be an opportunity to report in detail." Last month, Mayor Oh declared that he would initiate the 'Resetting Seoul' campaign, criticizing that private subsidies and consignment projects during former Mayor Park Won-soon's administration were managed recklessly.

Mayor Oh explained, "It is ideal for civic groups to cooperate with Seoul City and local governments, but the reality is different, so we are conducting evaluations," adding, "Not all funds were wasted, but in severe cases, certain organizations received consignment and subsidies 10 or 20 times over a period of 10 years."

He also rebutted criticisms that the 'Resetting Seoul' campaign is a so-called 'erasure of Park Won-soon.' Mayor Oh said, "There are criticisms that deny cooperation with civic groups or underestimate communication with citizens, but these are issues raised by the Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the current City Council," and added, "Labeling it as erasure is an unfair criticism that goes against propriety."

Meanwhile, on the same day, the joint chairpersons of the 22 district cooperative councils of Seoul held a press conference at the Seoul City Council press room, urging the withdrawal of the plan to cut the cooperative budget and demanding full guarantee of next year's budget. The group pointed out, "Seoul City is setting a policy to cut the citizen participation budget by 70-80% next year and is adjusting the budget accordingly," adding, "A drastic budget cut undermines the 'Citizen Participation Budget' system and betrays the trust between Seoul citizens and the districts."

The Seoul Village Autonomy Center Federation also held a press conference in front of Seoul City Hall, calling for the withdrawal of the budget cuts. The federation demanded the withdrawal, stating, "Since Mayor Oh Se-hoon's inauguration, Seoul City has distorted the achievements of village community projects and deprived citizens of participation opportunities."