The PPP’s nomination committee announced Saturday that Oh won the party’s primary, defeating Rep. Park Soo-min and former lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook. If elected, he would secure a third consecutive term since returning to office in 2021 and a fifth overall term as mayor.
Oh said he would “solemnly accept” the mandate to safeguard Seoul and restore balance in the country, adding, “If I am elected, I will take it as a call to rebuild the opposition,” he said, vowing to push for political reform.
Born in 1961, Oh entered politics by winning a parliamentary seat in Seoul’s Gangnam district in 2000. He later became Seoul mayor in 2006 and was re-elected in 2010, but resigned in 2011 after staking his position on a citywide vote over whether to provide free school lunches to all students or only to low‑income children. He returned in 2021 through a by-election and won another term in 2022.
His rival, Chung, is a three-term district mayor who has been publicly praised by President Lee Jae Myung, earning him the nickname “Lee’s pick.”
After Oh was chosen as the PPP’s candidate, Chung wrote on his social media account that he hoped the upcoming election would be “a fair competition based on policies and competence” in addressing citizens’ livelihoods and the future of Seoul.
A poll released Friday by Gallup Korea showed a sharp divide in party support, with the DPK at 48 percent and the PPP at 19 percent.
In the same survey of 1,000 adults conducted from April 14 to 16, 45 percent of respondents said they wanted more ruling party candidates to win the June 3 elections, while 28 percent preferred opposition candidates.
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