Song Young-gil's Side: "Oh Se-hoon’s Four Major Pledges for Vulnerable Groups... 'Empty Promises'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 22nd, Song Young-gil, the Seoul mayoral candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate, saying that his 'four major pledges for vulnerable groups' are "empty promises full of division."

On the same day, Song's camp pointed out, "The guaranteed income is nothing more than 'Selective Meal Support Season 2,'" adding, "According to the plan, the guaranteed income experiment requires 17 trillion won in funding, yet they bluntly responded that 'it can be solved by simply setting the median income at 50%,' effectively admitting there are no concrete measures. It is merely a lottery roulette randomly selecting 500 households over three years."

They also criticized, "'High-quality Seoul-type housing' is insulting in itself as a term, implying 'luxury rental housing like Tower Palace.'

Deputy spokesperson Seo Yoon-gi said, "According to Oh's words in the TV debate, 'it will be for newlyweds and young people who can afford it with their income, not the extremely poor.' It is essentially a declaration of rent increase for rental housing, not a pledge for vulnerable groups."

He continued, "In the ambitiously proposed 'Seoul Run' pledge, there is no realistic diagnosis or vision for public education," adding, "The enrollment rate is only 7.9%, and textbook fees are separate, requiring up to an additional 1.5 million won in expenses. Meanwhile, large private education companies providing content receive 'profit-guaranteed' preferential contracts that pay 120,000 won per student for just 40 seconds of attendance, and tuition fees equivalent to 1,000 students even if only one person attends."

Finally, the pledge for a 'Healthy Special City Seoul protected by public healthcare' was called a "typical repackaging."

Deputy spokesperson Seo said, "The expansion of public health centers, securing public budgets, the establishment of respiratory research centers, and the expansion of specialized medical equipment such as negative pressure wards are projects initiated by the previous mayor with only the names changed," adding, "'Seoul-type hospital incentive support projects' and other measures to have private hospitals provide public healthcare services lack specific incentive details and raise concerns about treatment gaps due to avoidance of low-income patients."

He added, "Candidate Oh has a history of relocating the National Medical Center to Seocho-gu in 2011 and promoting the construction of a 'Beauty Complex' centered on plastic surgery and a 'tourist hotel,'" expressing doubt whether his focus on superficial appearances rather than genuine expansion of public healthcare services has truly changed.