Repeated Tragedies and Helplessness from Disasters
"I Have No Intention to Enter Politics Again"
Returning to Work as a Firefighter
Oh Young-hwan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that he will not run in the 22nd National Assembly general election, which is one year away. As a first-term lawmaker with a background as a firefighter, he said he felt the limitations of not being able to prevent all accidents and deaths at the scene.
On the morning of the 10th, Oh held a press conference at the National Assembly and stated, "I felt a sense of helplessness that even legislative activities could not prevent numerous deaths at the scene," and "I have decided not to run in the 22nd general election." During his legislative activities, he did his best and achieved many results, but "many tragedies and despair followed during the time of changing the history of society," he explained.
At the press conference that day, Oh recited the names of firefighters who died in the line of duty over the past three years, saying, "One by one, every year, colleagues collapsed at the scene." He continued, "A month ago, on March 9, I had to bury the remains of another firefighter who died at the age of 29, who rushed into a house fire scene after hearing that there was a person inside the house," and emphasized, "At that moment, I felt my own limit of no longer being able to endure."
Oh declared, "I now have the courage to acknowledge my shortcomings and step down," and "I also relinquish the arrogance that I must play a greater role in politics to reduce disasters and tragedies further."
He also mentioned the current limitations of the political landscape. He said, "Today's politics tries to measure victory or defeat by who can more effectively contaminate the opposing camp," and lamented, "As a responsible politician for the political reality that the people ignore, I ultimately could not change anything."
Regarding the revision of the National Assembly election law, he sharply criticized, "The first thing that must be reformed is the appearance of those who should take responsibility not doing so, not apologizing, and only clinging to vested positions," and added, "The public is asking what meaning reform has if it is only words without acknowledging responsibility."
Oh plans to return to being a firefighter after completing the remaining year of his term. He said, "Now, I want to return to where I was and where I should be, my mission, as a firefighter who devoted himself to the people," and "Although I will stop my political challenge next year, I will strive to create even one more step of change and development in our society until the end of the 21st National Assembly."
During the remaining term, Oh intends to focus on establishing legal grounds to prevent accidents such as fires and support the election in his constituency, Uijeongbu City, Gyeonggi Province. He said, "There are still many legislative tasks left for society," and "We are reviewing laws to support fire victims, and legal grounds related to 112 and 119 emergency calls, as confirmed in the Itaewon disaster, to ensure that these laws function scientifically so that the public can be protected quickly and safely."
Oh entered politics through talent recruitment by the Democratic Party ahead of the 21st general election and was strategically nominated in Uijeongbu Gap. As the first firefighter-origin lawmaker, he also took the lead in proposing the 'Three Laws for Life Respect and Safe Workplaces,' which amended the Building Act, Firefighting Facilities Act, and Industrial Safety Act.
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