Kim Jong-in, Oh Se-hoon on 'Conditional Candidacy' Declaration: "Whether They Run Will Only Be Known in Time"

Former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 7th and stated his 'conditional candidacy' by saying, "If Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, joins the People Power Party, I will not run in the Seoul mayoral election." On the same day, former Mayor Oh said, "Today, I earnestly propose to candidate Ahn Cheol-soo for opposition unity. Please join the People Power Party. It would be more desirable if you decide to merge," adding, "Then I will not run and will do my best for the opposition's victory." Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, stated on the 7th regarding former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's conditional declaration that he would not run if Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party, joins the party, "Whether he will actually not run is something we have to wait and see."

After meeting with former Mayor Oh at the National Assembly that day, Kim told reporters, "Politicians say different things depending on the situation, so you can't take everything at face value."

On the same day in the morning, former Mayor Oh expressed his intention to run in next year's Seoul mayoral by-election but made a 'conditional candidacy' declaration that he would not run if Ahn joins the People Power Party or if the two parties merge.

When asked what he discussed with former Mayor Oh, Kim said, "He greeted me after declaring his candidacy for mayor," effectively viewing that former Mayor Oh made his candidacy announcement that day.

He added, "Former Mayor Oh had shown no interest in the Seoul mayoral race as he was planning to run for president until now. I don't know why his mindset has changed," indicating a cautious stance on former Mayor Oh’s shift toward running for Seoul mayor.

After the meeting with Kim, former Mayor Oh told reporters, "(Today's press conference content) is not different at all from the party's position. It is not different from the position the chairman has maintained," adding, "The response was positive."

Regarding the possibility of directly meeting and coordinating with Ahn, he said, "I plan to contact Ahn," and added, "If he agrees to meet, I will sincerely and joyfully convey the points I mentioned earlier."

Former Mayor Oh also said, "(What I want to emphasize more is) that I will run if Ahn does not join or if the two parties do not merge," and added, "Since we don’t know how things will turn out, I will start preparing for the candidacy in earnest from today."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.