Woo Sang-ho "Ruling Party Considering Postponing Primary Schedule for Specific Candidate? Sharp Criticism"

On the 14th, Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who declared his candidacy for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall and announced health and safety policies for Seoul citizens, including compensation insurance for business suspension of small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed workers, and the introduction of COVID-19 citizen safety insurance. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who declared his candidacy for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, made a pointed remark toward his party, saying, "Isn't the primary schedule being delayed considering the timing of a specific candidate's entry?" Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, has consistently ranked first among Democratic Party candidates in various Seoul mayor suitability polls but has yet to declare her candidacy. Woo is currently the only ruling party candidate to have officially announced his run.

On the morning of the 14th, right after unveiling the third installment of his policy series, "Seoul Healthy and Safe City," Woo told reporters when asked about his "solo lead" feelings, "I feel lonely and isolated," adding, "I think I need to speak about our party's issues today. I question whether the ruling party will show a stance of not even announcing the schedule."

He continued, "I wonder if the schedule announcement is being delayed considering the timing of a specific candidate's entry," and said, "It has been a long time since the party decided to field a candidate, but if there is no plan for the schedule, what can I say? I formally request the party to promptly secure and announce the Seoul mayoral primary schedule."

Regarding the ongoing declarations of candidacy by opposition candidates, Woo criticized, "There are as many as ten people declaring their candidacy for Seoul mayor, and many have declared from the opposition, but no pledges for Seoul citizens have been announced."

He added, "People are increasingly suspicious about what someone unprepared in policy intends to do as mayor. Although some content has been announced, it is very insufficient and unprepared," emphasizing, "This is a question that can also be asked of the leading candidates Ahn Cheol-soo, Na Kyung-won, and Oh Se-hoon."

Referring again to Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, Woo said, "Especially with Ahn’s emergence, even though I continue to announce policies, it is regrettable that strategic and political aspects like candidate unification are highlighted more than good policies."

Regarding his consecutive announcements of real estate policies as the first and second parts of his policy series, Woo said, "I believe the basic preparation for someone running for Seoul mayor should start with real estate policy as a way to respond to citizens' suffering."

He continued, "There has been a net increase of only 120,000 homes over about ten years, and the policy to expand private supply is just repeating a failed policy. The real estate pledges of candidates from the People Power Party are thoroughly about expanding private supply, but my policy is about public housing supply," he emphasized.

Meanwhile, the policies Woo announced that day include ▲promotion of establishing a public medical school at Seoul National University of Science and Technology ▲doubling the number of public health centers ▲establishing an epidemiological investigation personnel training and operation system at municipal hospitals in Seoul ▲support for medical personnel responding to COVID-19 ▲introduction of compensation insurance for business suspension of SMEs and self-employed (annual premium payment, up to 5 million KRW for up to 60 days of closure) ▲introduction of COVID-19 citizen safety insurance (up to 10 million KRW compensation for death or sequelae from infectious diseases) ▲introduction of Seoul-type child sickness allowance (50,000 KRW per day, up to 3 months). Woo stressed, "It is essential to strengthen the public healthcare system that can actively and effectively respond to infectious disease threats," and added, "I will make Seoul the world's best city in infectious disease response."

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