Response to Policy Questions at Seoul Metropolitan Council
Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon stated that he has ordered a fundamental review of whether public activity subsidy programs are truly necessary, in response to controversy over the city providing public activity support funds for an event organized by the conservative-leaning education group 'Reebak School,' which is under suspicion of manipulating online comments.
On June 11, during a regular session of the 331st Seoul Metropolitan Council, Mayor Oh responded to questions from Park Subin, a Democratic Party council member, saying, "At the time of selecting the support project, it was difficult for city officials to verify the relevant details."
Previously, the Hankyoreh newspaper reported in November 2023 that Seoul City had supported an event organized by Reebak School and hosted by the Equal Opportunity Parents' Solidarity through its Nonprofit Civil Organization Public Activity Support Program. In response, Seoul City explained, "The Equal Opportunity Parents' Solidarity, which was selected for the public activity support program, held a seminar in collaboration with Reebak School, but no subsidies were provided to Reebak School." The city also clarified that its sponsorship name was used without approval.
Council member Park asked, "If far-right groups are able to promote projects and expand their influence through indirect routes such as other organizations, how will you identify such activities?"
Mayor Oh replied, "With the significant development of YouTube, the paradigm has shifted so that anyone can acquire information and study any field if they wish. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to fundamentally review whether these types of public activity support programs are truly needed."
He continued, "It seems that this program has been consistently operated simply because there is a legal basis for it. Fortunately, since I returned as mayor, the scale of such subsidy programs has been significantly reduced." He added, "Since the issue of supporting private organizations is bound to become a recurring debate whenever the mayor changes, the solution is to absolutely reduce the total amount."
When council member Park pointed out that even if the scale of the program is reduced, there should be a mechanism to identify and manage the organizations receiving support, Mayor Oh responded, "Of course. We must make efforts in that regard."
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