Business Trip to India and Malaysia from the 4th for 6 Nights and 8 Days Canceled
Decision Made to Respond to the Subway Strike Scheduled from the 6th
Some Raise Concerns Over Political Controversy Involving Myeong Taegyun
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon suddenly canceled his overseas business trip a day before departure. According to the Seoul city government, this decision was made to respond to the upcoming Seoul subway strike scheduled from the 6th. Some speculate that recent political controversies, including the ongoing 'Myeong Tae-gyun issue,' may have also influenced the decision.
On the 3rd, the Seoul city government announced, "Due to expected citizen inconvenience related to the scheduled strikes by Korail and Seoul Metro on the 5th and 6th, the overseas official trips of the Seoul mayor to India and Malaysia, originally planned from the 4th to the 11th, have been canceled."
On the 26th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon received a question from the press about Myeong Taekyun at the small business support policy announcement held in the briefing room of Seoul City Hall, Jung-gu, Seoul, and showed a stern expression. Photo by Jo Yong-jun
Originally, Mayor Oh planned to visit India and Malaysia for six nights and eight days starting from the 4th. He was scheduled to participate in a policy-sharing forum held in New Delhi, India, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and discuss cooperation on talent exchange between cities.
However, on the morning of the same day, Seoul city announced the cancellation of Mayor Oh’s trip and expressed its determination to actively respond to the subway strike. Although the subway strike had been announced since last month, the analysis that negotiations would not be easy until the last moment likely influenced the decision. In fact, the Seoul Metro Union, the first union of Seoul Metro which operates the Seoul subway, and the third union, Olbareun Union, have stated that they will launch a general strike starting from the 6th if demands such as withdrawal of restructuring and normalization of personnel management are not accepted. The second union, the Seoul Metro Integrated Union affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, is also conducting a strike vote among its members until tomorrow.
Some have also suggested that there may be political reasons behind the trip cancellation. Mayor Oh’s name has been repeatedly mentioned in connection with the so-called 'Myeong Tae-gyun gate,' and the prosecution is reportedly expected to indict key figures including Mr. Myeong and former lawmaker Kim Young-sun as early as today. This comes about a year after the Gyeongsangnam-do Election Commission filed complaints and requested investigations against them.
However, the Seoul city government has denied such interpretations. A Seoul city official stated, "Since citizen inconvenience due to the subway strike is anticipated, active response is necessary," adding, "This is unrelated to political circumstances."
Seoul city is actively denying all allegations related to Mr. Myeong. On the previous day, Shin Seon-jong, spokesperson for Seoul city, defended against various allegations related to the 'Myeong Tae-gyun controversy,' calling it an attempt to 'kill Mayor Oh Se-hoon.' In particular, regarding the remarks by Yeom Tae-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who mentioned that the prosecution had secured phone call records and KakaoTalk messages exchanged between Mayor Oh and Mr. Myeong, Shin warned, "The act of spreading false information to damage an individual's reputation for political purposes must be eradicated. Yeom’s remarks will also face legal judgment."
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