After the General Election, Meeting and Dining with Ruling and Opposition Party Seoul Area Lawmakers and Defeated Candidates
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will have a dinner meeting with Hwang Woo-yeo, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, and other ruling party leaders. It appears that he is continuing 'meal politics' with political figures since the April 10 general election.
According to political circles on the 5th, Mayor Oh will meet with Chairman Hwang, Policy Committee Chairman Jeong Jeom-sik, and Emergency Response Committee members Eom Tae-young, Kim Yong-tae, and Jeon Ju-hye at the Seoul Mayor’s official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 5th.
Since the general election, Mayor Oh has sequentially met with ruling party members as well as opposition lawmakers from the Seoul area for meals. The day before, he reportedly had lunch with six lawmakers from the Gangwon region, including Yoo Sang-beom, an Emergency Response Committee member of the People Power Party, and Kim Eun-hye (Gyeonggi Seongnam Bundang-eul).
Attention is focused on whether Mayor Oh and the party leadership will exchange opinions on the recently raised 'revival of district party organizations' within the party during this dinner. District party organizations are subordinate bodies of the central party that have offices centered around regional chairpersons and can receive sponsorship funds. They disappeared after the revision of the Political Parties Act and Political Funds Act following the illegal political fund scandal involving the Grand National Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party), known as 'chataegi,' during the 2002 presidential election. However, recently, candidates for party leadership such as former Emergency Response Committee Chairman Han Dong-hoon and out-of-parliament chairpersons in the metropolitan area have suggested reviving district party organizations to lower the entry barriers for political newcomers.
Mayor Oh previously led political reform legislation known as the 'Oh Se-hoon Law,' which spearheaded the abolition of district party organizations. On May 31, he expressed opposition to the revival of district party organizations on Facebook. He stated, "District party organizations are not for the people but only strengthen the one-man monarchical party leader," adding, "While creating district party organizations might help the party leader control the party, how would it benefit the people?"
Earlier, Mayor Oh had a verbal exchange with former Chairman Han regarding the government's 'overseas direct purchase regulations.' When Mayor Oh posted on Facebook, "Safety and corporate protection are values that cannot be abandoned even if some inconvenience is caused to direct purchase users, and pointing out that the entire policy has major problems is disappointing as a 'conduct' from a senior ruling party member," former Chairman Han responded, "The Seoul Mayor said my opinion was a wrong 'conduct,'" countering. He emphasized, "Not many would agree with treating constructive opinions in a liberal democratic society as a matter of 'conduct.'"
In response, Mayor Oh indirectly apologized for using the word 'conduct' but explained, "However, ruling party politicians should keep their opinions on SNS to the minimum necessary," adding, "Senior members can directly contact and consult with the Presidential Office, Prime Minister’s Office, and ministers or vice ministers if needed. I was pointing out that it is unhealthy to leave internal channels that can be sufficiently utilized unused and instead engage in mere showmanship."
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