Focus on Myeong Taekyun's Testimony as Witness
Lawmakers Warn Myeong for Raised Voices
People Power Party: "Random and One-Sided Claims"
Mayor Oh Calls Livelihood Coupons "Unilateral"
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon faced Myeong Taekyun, with whom he has been engaged in a dispute over allegations that polling expenses were paid on his behalf. On the afternoon of the 23rd, Myeong appeared as a witness at the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, where he disclosed the schedule for a special prosecutor's face-to-face interrogation with Mayor Oh. However, he failed to present clear evidence regarding the related suspicions.
The audit also covered Seoul's policies and stances on issues such as the Han River Bus, housing policy, and the issuance of local government bonds. Mayor Oh repeatedly emphasized the financial burden of the government's consumer coupon issuance, stating, "I will no longer comply with unilateral notifications."
Myeong Taekyun is responding to a lawmaker's question at the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's audit held at Seoul City Hall on the 23rd. Photo by Yonhap News
The audit began with the 'Myeong Taekyun Gate'... Raised voices as he appeared in the afternoon
The audit by the Public Administration and Security Committee held at Seoul City Hall in the morning began with the so-called "Myeong Taekyun Gate." Kwon Chilseung, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, asked Mayor Oh for his position on Myeong's remarks as a witness at the trial of Kim Keonhee the previous day. During the trial, Myeong referred to Mayor Oh, saying, "Do you know why Mayor Oh is still walking around freely?" and alleged that he was covering up criminal facts.
However, Mayor Oh responded, "That person is very skilled at lying. It's not true." Mayor Oh has repeatedly emphasized his position that "Myeong approached me intentionally, we met twice, and then I cut off contact."
Appearing as a witness in the afternoon, Myeong foreshadowed a confrontation by stating, "Today, we will see whether Oh Se-hoon is the liar or I am." At the audit, when lawmaker Kwon asked, "Why do you think Mayor Oh is a liar?" Myeong replied, "Mayor Oh claims he met me only twice, that he turned me away, that things happened at the campaign office-it's all lies. We met seven times."
When Lee Haesik, another Democratic Party lawmaker, asked how Myeong first met Mayor Oh, Myeong targeted the mayor by saying, "When I attended an event in Yeouido hosted by former party leader Kim Mooseong, former lawmaker Kim Youngsun tried to introduce me to Mayor Oh, but I refused, saying, 'He has a traitorous face, so I won't meet him.'" He further stated, "I was imprisoned, and Mayor Oh filed charges against me. Even now, I have never filed charges against Mayor Oh or Hong Junpyo. We worked together, but he reported me."
Regarding the suspicion that Kim Hanjeong, who was once the head of Mayor Oh's support committee, paid polling expenses on Oh's behalf, Myeong answered, "It's true." He added, "Mayor Oh directly instructed that the polling expenses be paid by someone else, and Kim Hanjeong paid about 33 million won on his behalf."
Myeong showed agitated reactions several times during the questioning. When Ko Dongjin, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, asked, "Didn't you effectively run the Future Korea Institute?" Myeong raised his voice, saying, "How would I know about someone else's company?" Shin Jeonghoon, chairman of the committee, issued several warnings to Myeong throughout the session.
In contrast, Mayor Oh refrained from answering questions from Democratic Party lawmakers. He said, "I ask for your understanding that I cannot help but refrain from answering." Mayor Oh explained, "In May, I strongly requested a face-to-face interrogation by the prosecution, but it was not accepted. This time, it was accepted by the special prosecutor. There are many things I want to clarify in the confrontation. There is no reason for me to reveal my hand here." Myeong also had tense exchanges with People Power Party lawmakers. When Ko Dongjin asked about his criminal record, Myeong replied, "The People Power Party won't be able to handle this, so don't ask. I'll reveal everything."
After Myeong left, People Power Party lawmakers raised issues with his testimony. Lawmaker Lee Seongkwon said, "Watching Myeong Taekyun as a witness, I felt he was just making random and one-sided claims." Mayor Oh remarked, "I believe everything will be clarified through the face-to-face interrogation and the special prosecutor's investigation."
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is attending the "2025 National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee Audit" held at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. Photo by Yonhap News
On key issues such as the Han River Bus, TBS, and livelihood coupons, Mayor Oh states his position... "Han River Bus can be utilized as a means of transportation"
Following the audit by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on the 20th, criticism of the Han River Bus continued. Ruling party lawmakers once again intensified their attacks on the Han River Bus project. They raised concerns about safety following the suspension of passenger service just ten days after its launch due to malfunctions, as well as criticism of the project's structure for placing excessive financial burden on the city.
On this day, the Public Administration and Security Committee, led by the Democratic Party, requested four witnesses, including Son Jeongil, CEO of Gadeok Heavy Industries, and Kim Seonjik, CEO of Han River Bus, to question Mayor Oh about the Han River Bus. The Democratic Party questioned these witnesses about the project's initial plans, the vessel construction process, and the selection of companies from the outset.
At the session, Mayor Oh emphasized that the Han River Bus "can be sufficiently utilized as a means of transportation." When Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Geonyoung pointed out, "The Han River Bus has lost its value as a means of transportation," Mayor Oh countered, "Does transportation always have to be fast?" He added, "After six months, usage patterns will stabilize, and a survey will show whether citizens are using it as public transportation or as a cruise."
When Yoon further asked if Mayor Oh was willing to apologize to citizens for the suspension of service, Mayor Oh replied, "I have no difficulty apologizing, but the suspension was not due to a major accident." In response to another Democratic Party lawmaker's claim that "the project was pushed forward recklessly for political reasons, leading to compromised vessel safety," Mayor Oh said, "That's a misunderstanding," explaining, "The delays were due to practical reasons such as shipbuilding, and canceling the project would have resulted in much higher costs."
Questions were also raised about the ordinance to abolish TBS (Traffic Broadcasting System). Lawmaker Kwon Chilseung asked Mayor Oh for his stance on TBS, and Mayor Oh responded, "I find the decision to remove the designation of TBS's broadcast period very regrettable." When Kwon pointed out, "In November 2022, the ordinance to abolish TBS was passed, and at that time, Seoul City changed its position to actively support abolition in its review report. This could not have happened without the mayor's decision. Isn't it contradictory to say you're not in favor of closing the station?" Mayor Oh replied, "That's not the case. Even when the city council passed the ordinance to end support, I maintained the position that such an extreme measure would not help resolve the situation at all."
Mayor Oh's policy stance on the government's consumer coupon program for livelihood recovery was also revealed. He expressed concerns about the financial burden on local governments regarding the issuance of local government bonds, stating, "In the future, I will not comply with unilateral notifications." Responding to People Power Party lawmaker Lee Dalhee's criticism of the side effects of the government-issued consumer coupons, Mayor Oh said, "Seoul City has made considerable efforts to reduce debt through significant austerity, but this time, half of those efforts have been undone."
In consideration of the 350 billion won in local funding required for the government's livelihood recovery consumer coupon program, Seoul City prepared its second supplementary budget exceeding 1 trillion won on August 1. The main issue was the city's financial burden resulting from the consumer coupon program. Among the 17 metropolitan and provincial governments, Seoul was the only one to bear a 75% local matching rate, amounting to a 350 billion won burden for the city.
On this day, Mayor Oh said that he raised the issue of issuing local government bonds for the consumer coupon program directly with the president at the Council of Provincial Governors, stating, "There was no prior consultation about requiring local governments to bear the financial burden of the consumer coupon program. At the beginning of the president's term, we cooperated even though it was difficult, but I said that from now on, we can only help by taking on more debt."
People Power Party lawmakers also voiced criticism. Lawmaker Joo Ho-young said, "When Lee Jaemyung was a presidential candidate, he said the way for local governments to survive is to transfer central government resources and authority to local governments. However, on September 5, the Seoul Metropolitan Council passed a supplementary budget of 1.7999 trillion won, with 83% allocated to the livelihood recovery consumer coupon program. Since Mayor Oh took office, Seoul's debt was reduced by 600 billion won, but now, due to this, the debt has increased again, and 350 billion won in local government bonds were issued for the coupons alone." Mayor Oh also emphasized, "Isn't it problematic to make such unilateral decisions without any consultation with Seoul City?"
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