▲ Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks with People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik at a seminar hosted by the Korea Future Innovation Forum at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on June 24.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party (PPP) visited the National Assembly for the first time since the party's victory in the June 3 local elections, lending weight to the calls for an "orderly resignation of Jang Dong-hyuk" and indirectly pressuring senior party members to play a role.
As Chairman Jang faces demands to step down due to the local election defeat, leaving the party in a leadership vacuum, Mayor Oh appears to be expanding his presence within the conservative opposition by increasing interactions with fellow lawmakers and raising his political voice.
During a forum titled "Diagnosis of the June 3 Local Elections and Future Tasks" hosted by the Korea Future Innovation Forum at the National Assembly Members' Office Building today (June 24), Oh commented on the issue of Jang's resignation, saying, "Nothing is achieved by rushing. We even went through the election amidst that (controversy), so there is no need to shed blood unnecessarily."
He continued, "I saw Floor Leader Jeong's interview today, and his response was grounded in the concern that rushing too much could make things more difficult. I generally agree with him. It's not like we have an election the day after tomorrow, and change and innovation that only bring side effects due to unnecessary haste are probably not what all members of our party want."
He added, "The consensus among lawmakers in the National Assembly is now starting to form from the grassroots, so it would be wise to take sufficient time. I humbly think that perhaps the time has come for senior lawmakers to step up and play a weighty role."
Regarding party operations in general, Oh said, "South Korea is an over-politicized society. Even when a random assault occurs, the party leader gets involved. It would be good to move toward healthy policy competition, but unnecessary distortions and excessive conflicts arise, branding politicians as mere fighters."
He then shared, "To improve this phenomenon, back when I was a first-term lawmaker, I used to think, 'Is a party leader really necessary? Can't the floor leader handle things sufficiently through legislative revision?'" He emphasized, "Globally, the United States also operates on a floor-centered party system, where there is no separate party leader and the floor leader leads politics. We must move toward a floor-centered party to avoid unnecessary conflicts."
Regarding the Lee Jae-myung administration, Oh asked, "The ruthlessness of this administration was halfway judged in this election. Even if we didn't fight fiercely, they self-destructed because their arrogant behavior repeated itself. Is there any reason for the opposition party to criticize them more extremely than necessary?"
He stressed, "Usually, people who fight well seem refreshing, look like leaders, and are favored. But in the end, at the decisive moment, the one who wins the election is the dutiful child."
When asked about his pledge to attend Cabinet meetings and directly convey public sentiment to President Lee, Oh said, "There has been no concrete response yet. The first Cabinet meeting (since the start of the new term) is on July 7, which is still more than ten days away, so I will wait."
Regarding the election sentiment, he said, "Comparing the 2022 local elections and this election, it is clearly a lost election. However, there are many analyses showing that young people turned back to us after this election ended."
He then self-evaluated that his policies were proving effective, analyzing, "We used to be at a significant disadvantage in election campaigns using online spaces, but comparing the number of (Instagram) Reels, we have completely overcome the strategic disadvantage we previously had against the Democratic Party of Korea."
In addition, when Representative Park Soo-young asked why Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon lost his re-election bid, Oh replied, "When I started my campaign, I postponed my candidate registration twice. At that time, I called Mayor Park and suggested that it would be good for us to work together. I still feel a sense of regret, wondering what would have happened if he had joined me then."
Today's lecture was packed to capacity, with around 30 lawmakers, including Floor Leader Jeong, in attendance.
Lawmakers cheered and applauded throughout Oh's speech, boosting the atmosphere of the lecture.
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon was originally scheduled to attend the event but was absent due to his schedule in Busan.
Oh and Han were also expected to meet at a forum hosted by Representative Lee Seong-gweon yesterday, but the meeting fell through as Oh did not attend.
As independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon also recently joined the group organizing today's event, attention was focused on whether the two would meet, but Han was absent due to his regional schedule.
Oh and Han were expected to meet at a forum hosted by Representative Lee Seong-gweon yesterday, but the meeting fell through as Oh did not attend and instead sent a written congratulatory message.
When asked about missing each other for two consecutive days, Oh kept his remarks brief, saying, "I met Candidate Han about three times before the election. Coming to the National Assembly two days in a row is also somewhat burdensome for the Seoul Mayor."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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