Oh Sehoon Strongly Rebuts Ruling Party's Real Estate Criticism... On Martial Law Apology: "Until Sincerity Reaches the People"

Oh Sehoon and Ruling Party Clash Intensify Ahead of Local Elections
On Real Estate Criticism, Oh Says "Distorting the Facts"
Opposes Changes to Opposition Primary Rules, Calls for "Caution"
On Martial Law Apology: "What Does It Matter if It's Five or Six Times?"

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon sharply criticized the Democratic Party of Korea and those planning to run for Seoul mayor on November 27, saying, "It is the Democratic Party and those who want to run for Seoul mayor who are making absurd claims in public." Tensions between the ruling and opposition parties are intensifying ahead of next year's local elections.

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon is speaking at the Policy Forum of the People Power Party Seoul Branch's Special Committee on Normalizing the Housing Ladder, held on the 27th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Mayor Oh attended the Policy Forum of the People Power Party Seoul Branch's Special Committee on Normalizing the Housing Ladder at the National Assembly Members' Office Building that morning, stating, "The debate surrounding housing supply in Seoul has recently become even more heated. What we see now is a flood of political arguments. There are also unclear, irresponsible, and sometimes even fact-distorting claims being made without hesitation," he emphasized.

Mayor Oh strongly refuted the Democratic Party's claim that his "Redevelopment and Reconstruction Fast-Track Plan" is hindering housing supply. He said, "The Seoul Metropolitan Government launched the so-called Fast-Track Plan to correct the problems that arose during the Democratic Party's ten years of governance. Through this, we reduced the time it takes to designate a maintenance zone from five years to two and a half years, and in just four years, we designated 221,000 housing units," stressing, "This was truly a painstaking effort."

He continued, "Some in the media and political circles have recently been repeating the distorted claim that, out of 224 Fast-Track Plan sites, only two have begun construction. This is a distortion of the facts and an unreasonable argument that ignores the procedures of maintenance projects." He also countered the Democratic Party's argument that the authority to designate maintenance zones in Seoul should be transferred to district governments, saying, "Under current law, most of the authorization for maintenance projects already lies with the district governments."

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon is speaking at the Policy Forum of the People Power Party Seoul Branch's Special Committee on Normalizing the Housing Ladder, held on the 27th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Mayor Oh also expressed his opposition to the People Power Party's Local Election Planning Committee's attempt to change the nomination rules for next year's local elections to a 70% party opinion and 30% public opinion ratio.

He said, "Usually, the party takes a contractionary approach to solidify its core support base, but when the election is six months or a year away, it should shift to an expansionary approach. However, looking at the recent situation, I feel that the party is instead moving in a contractionary direction."

He added, "As I came here today, I saw that the local party chapter heads in Seoul issued a statement effectively opposing such discussions, asking for careful consideration. Now is the time for us to proceed with genuine caution so that we can address the concerns of the Seoul chapter heads."

Earlier, Seoul-based party chapter heads (Cho Eunhee, Park Junghoon, Ko Dongjin, Kim Jaeseop, Jang Jinyoung, Kim Youngjoo, Kang Seongman, Ho Junseok, Park Yongchan, Oh Shinwhan, Hyun Kyungbyung, Kim Kyungjin, Lee Jongcheol, Kim Wonpil, Koo Sangchan, Choi Jaehyung, Hong Injeong, Song Jubeom, Ham Unkyung, Lee Hyehoon, Lee Jaeyoung, Kim Geunsik) issued a statement on the same day, pointing out, "Given that next year's local elections are expected to be unfavorable for our party, a thorough analysis should precede any decision to reduce the proportion of public opinion reflected, as it could impact our competitiveness in the general election."

Regarding calls within the party for an apology ahead of the first anniversary of the December 3 Martial Law Declaration, Mayor Oh said, "An apology only has meaning when those receiving it feel its sincerity. I understand there are counterarguments asking how many times an apology must be made, but what does it matter if it is five or six times? The People Power Party should continue to apologize and reflect until its sincerity reaches the people."