Oh Se-hoon on the Democratic Party's 'Culture-led Growth': "The turnaround is shocking... It's too late"

Criticism of Cultural-Led Growth Discussion After Launch of Democratic Party's Governance Plan Headquarters
"Suddenly Pushing Cultural-Led Economic Growth Without Any Reflection"

On the 25th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed his astonishment at the Democratic Party's shift in stance, which had indiscriminately disparaged culture 20 years ago, as they launched an organization to prepare for the next presidential election and decided to discuss 'culture-led growth.'

In a Facebook post titled 'Wrong Then, Right Now?', Mayor Oh pointed out, "Recently, the Democratic Party, led by Representative Lee Jae-myung, has officially begun preparing for the presidential election and brought up the concept of 'culture-led growth.' But it is too late."

Mayor Oh stated, "Since my first term as Seoul Mayor in 2006, I focused on the economic and industrial value of culture, proposed 'Culconomics,' and presented design as a future growth engine through initiatives like Design Seoul." He added, "How did the Democratic Party respond back then? They indiscriminately criticized and disparaged it, saying things like 'You have too much time,' 'The economy is important, what about culture?' and 'This is image politics.'

He continued, "Without any reflection on that, it is astonishing that they are now suddenly changing their stance to achieve economic growth led by culture. Although it is called a first step, the directionless proposal is even hollow, and linking culture to Representative Lee Jae-myung's 'basic society' is forced."

Referring to initiatives he had promoted such as 'Reading Seoul Plaza' and 'Fun City,' he said, "You need to see how the city's dignity was elevated, how the concept was introduced, and how, despite opposition, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) was built and a design hub was created." He also recommended studying the Culconomics and creative industry strategies he had pursued.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's 'Governance Plan Headquarters,' responsible for preparing Representative Lee Jae-myung's next presidential campaign, held its first full meeting on the 23rd and began full-scale activities. The Governance Plan Headquarters decided to discuss 'culture-led growth' as its first policy.