"'Non-candidacy' Oh Young-hwan leaves Democratic Party → Joins Saeroun Mirae: 'No time to waste'"

First-term Assemblyman Oh Young-hwan's Resignation Press Conference
Joins Saeroun Mirae as Joint Election Committee Co-Chair
"Not Joining Party to Run for Office"

On the 17th, Oh Young-hwan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who declared he would not run in last April's general election, left the party and joined Saeroun Mirae, led by Lee Nak-yeon, the standing advisor.

Oh held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the same day and stated, "There is no more time to waste criticizing the party as Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party, which has become a personal faction," explaining his decision.

Oh Young-hwan, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

He said, "The intra-party democracy of the Democratic Party, which claims to inherit the spirit of democracy, has collapsed," adding, "Those who expressed different thoughts and opinions have mostly become targets for exclusion and removal." He continued, "The nomination system, which was once highly praised, is now suspected of being abused for specific intentions, abandoning its principles," and said, "The satellite parties, which have been repeatedly reflected upon and apologized for, have become channels for colluding with unacceptable political forces and causing various controversies in this general election."

He also made it clear that his joining the new party was not for running in elections. After declaring he would not run, Oh had said he would return to work as a firefighter. After joining Saeroun Mirae, Oh told reporters, "There is no change to the promise I made from the beginning," and emphasized, "I want to make it clear that this is not a resignation and joining for the purpose of running in elections."

Oh said, "If this general election is a fight to give hope to the people against the great power, I will stop the politics of stigma, hatred, and exclusion first," adding, "If we ultimately resign ourselves to the idea that only the two major parties are realistic, our politics will never break the vicious cycle of today."

Oh is expected to serve as co-chairman of the joint election countermeasures committee at Saeroun Mirae. If Seol Hoon, who left the Democratic Party last week, also joins, Saeroun Mirae will meet the criteria to receive election subsidies (five seats).