Oh Se-hoon calls Lee Jae-myung's remarks on 'distorted privatization' "false agitation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 5th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized the remark by Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, calling his statement on "distorted privatization" a "false agitation."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is announcing the development blueprint "Yongsan International Business District Development Plan" for the area around the Yongsan Maintenance Depot at Seoul City Hall on the 26th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

That afternoon, Mayor Oh wrote on his Facebook, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration has never mentioned privatization, yet once again, Lee Jae-myung suddenly brought up privatization," expressing his criticism.

Earlier that day, at a meeting with representatives of labor unions from public institutions in Ulsan Woongjeong Innovation City held at Shilla Stay in Nam-gu, Ulsan, Lee said, regarding the Yoon administration's public institution innovation guidelines, "It appears to be a distorted privatization measure, which is very worrisome," and added, "Private companies should not be allowed to take charge of public services and monopolize social infrastructure, damaging the lives of the people."

Regarding these remarks, Mayor Oh stated, "During the last local election, Lee recklessly ran in the constituency of former lawmaker Song Young-gil, shaking the entire metropolitan area’s political landscape, and shouted 'Oppose privatization,' causing great alarm. Now, he slightly changed his stance and says not to do 'distorted privatization'."

He continued, "Lee claimed that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s public institution guidelines mean 'selling to the private sector or handing over public domain functions to the private sector.' This is false agitation," and rebutted, "Due to the inefficient management under the Moon Jae-in administration, the efficiency of public institutions significantly declined, and this innovation plan aims to correct that."

Mayor Oh emphasized, "In a situation where the public is suffering severe economic pain due to high exchange rates, soaring prices, and rising interest rates, it is a natural duty for the public sector to tighten its belt," adding, "The innovation plan only includes selling unnecessary assets such as golf memberships and luxury office buildings owned by public institutions, and explicitly states that privatization will not be pursued. There is no sale of public institutions nor transfer of functions."

He further pointed out, "We are currently facing a national crisis economically and in terms of security," and said, "As a significant politician who even ran in the presidential election, the right attitude is to cooperate for the people's livelihood, not political agitation."

Mayor Oh also criticized, "Moreover, isn’t Lee himself currently under investigation for allegations including the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong developments, lawyer fee payments, misuse of corporate cards, and Seongnam FC sponsorship funds?" He added, "During the Baekhyeon-dong development, Yoo Dong-gyu, known as a close aide to Lee, reportedly told Seongnam Urban Development Corporation to 'step back,' allowing a private company to earn investment profits worth 300 billion won, as announced by the Board of Audit and Inspection. This is what truly constitutes 'distorted privatization.'"