People Power Party Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon stepped down from the mayor’s post on April 27 and began full-scale campaigning, seeking to close the polling gap with Democratic Party candidate Jung Won-oh.
Oh carried out mayoral duties in the morning, then around lunchtime completed his preliminary candidate registration with the election commission. He then walked from Seoul City Hall to Bosingak in Gwancheol-dong, Jongno District, greeting residents along the way, and held a news conference in front of the bell pavilion to announce his candidacy.
“I will protect Seoul and help get the country back on its feet,” Oh said. Referring to what he called moves by the government and ruling party to cancel the prosecution in the Daejang-dong case, he added that he would “set right this runaway behavior by the Lee Jae-myung government.”
Oh also criticized the period under former Mayor Park Won-soon, saying housing supply stalled while support for government-aligned civic groups surged. He called Park’s tenure “10 years of darkness” and “a period of Seoul’s decline,” and said that during his past five years in office he laid the groundwork to supply 310,000 homes in Seoul by 2031. He also criticized what he described as “no-questions-asked” support totaling 1.0222 trillion won for such groups at the time, and said he would prevent Seoul from again becoming “prey” for organizations that present themselves as civic groups.
Oh also addressed his decision to register about two weeks earlier than expected. The National Election Commission’s official candidate registration period is May 14-15. Oh said he decided to work harder because polls showed him “slightly behind” Jung, and said the early move reflected his determination to “protect Seoul” and stop what he called the Lee administration’s “runaway” actions.
Asked about his strategy as he seeks a third consecutive term and a fifth term overall, Oh said elections are “not about strategy but about sincerity.” He said he would reach out to residents, communicate more and turn candid advice into policy.
Oh said he would make the Lee government, which he said had begun to “run wild,” feel uneasy as it watches Seoul voters’ choice. He also appealed for support, saying Seoul residents had “raised” him into a “public asset of the Republic of Korea” through four elections.
Oh opened his campaign office, called the “Jumping Up Camp,” in the Daewang Building near Bosingak. He said the name reflects his goal of helping Seoul “jump” into a “special city for quality of life.”
In a Facebook post, Oh said “Jumping Up” carries a promise that if the past five years were about restoring the foundation, the next step is to “jump higher” with residents and unlock Seoul’s potential.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.