With both major parties having chosen their final candidates for Seoul mayor ahead of the June 3 local elections, attention is turning to the campaign committees expected to drive the race. Democratic Party candidate Jung Won-oh, selected earlier as the party’s nominee, has moved quickly to assemble a large committee heavy with sitting lawmakers and has begun public campaigning. People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon has said he will also move fast to build his team.
Jung on Monday visited the Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District with about 40 aides in his first official outing since launching his campaign committee.
Among those attending were Rep. Lee In-young, a five-term lawmaker from Seoul and a standing co-chair of the committee, along with Reps. Park Joo-min and Jeon Hyun-hee, who had competed against Jung in the party race. Other key figures from the committee formed the previous day also joined, including co-chairs Han Jeong-ae, Nam In-soon, Jin Sun-mi, Ko Min-jung and Kim Young-ho. Jung’s committee totals more than 50 members, including 27 sitting lawmakers.
Jung reiterated his push for party unity, saying he built a lawmaker-centered committee to strengthen his team. “The candidates in the party primary have experience in state affairs and in the National Assembly, and they have experience in party leadership,” he told reporters after the visit. “I invited them to help fill in what I need to build one team.”
Oh, by contrast, has made few public moves since appointing Rep. Park Soo-min and former lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook as co-chairs on Saturday.
Still, Oh has said he plans to ask key party figures, including sitting lawmakers from Seoul, to join as he accelerates preparations.
Speaking on KBS radio’s “Jeonggyeok Sisa” on Monday, Oh said, “We should of course bring in sitting lawmakers. We will of course bring in Supreme Council member Shin Dong-wook as well.” Referring to Jung’s lineup, he added, “Even if we can’t match a ‘mammoth’ committee, we are planning around people who can work practically.”
Oh’s camp told Aju Business Daily by phone that the overall structure has not yet been finalized, but said it is making full preparations to recruit lawmakers in Seoul and that sitting lawmakers could join.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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