Oh Se-hoon challenges Park Young-sun to "1-on-1 debate"... Sharp exchanges continue

Former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, a candidate in the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral primary, is speaking at the '1st Head-to-Head Debate for Changing Seoul' held on the 16th at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] The sharp exchanges between Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's preliminary candidate for Seoul mayor, and Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party's preliminary candidate for Seoul mayor, continue. Oh even proposed a one-on-one pledge debate to Park.

On the 18th, Oh stated on Facebook, "I propose to (Park)," adding, "Let's have a one-on-one pledge debate, a policy debate, even tomorrow."

Oh said, "Since nothing else works, I am now relying on the power of the media," and "To the extent that even a certain spokesperson from the Democratic Party stepped forward to make an attack so embarrassing that it is shameful to even mention."

The verbal sparring between Park and Oh has been ongoing recently. On the 16th, Park criticized Oh on Facebook, saying, "You are always hasty, just like when you resigned 10 years ago over the free school meals issue for failing to read the times."

Oh, in turn, pointed out Park's view of the media the day before. Oh said, "With 20 years of experience as a reporter, Park's media perspective is truly pathetic," and asked, "Does having a high listenership mean that violating the public duty of broadcasting, such as objectivity and fairness, and engaging in biased broadcasting that distorts public opinion is not a problem?" Park had previously described criticism by Jo Eun-hee, the People Power Party's preliminary candidate, of TBS 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' for political bias as 'an infringement on press freedom,' emphasizing TBS's high listenership.

On the same day, Park posted another message targeting Oh on her Facebook. She said, "While it is possible to criticize opponents during elections, if one hastily does so without properly grasping the facts, it ultimately results in self-inflicted damage," and pointed out, "One particular opposition candidate's language is getting rougher, and having hastily criticized Bill Gates' stance on nuclear power without proper understanding, he ended up as a fact-check item in the media."

Meanwhile, on the same day, Park Jin-young, the Democratic Party's full-time deputy spokesperson, caused controversy by saying about Oh and Na Kyung-won, the People Power Party's preliminary candidate for Seoul mayor, "They are putting forward ridiculous pledges for a one-year mayor." In response, Hwang Gyu-hwan, the People Power Party's full-time deputy spokesperson, demanded, "The ruling party's deputy spokesperson who disparaged the policy election with abusive language should resign immediately, and the Democratic Party should apologize to the public."

Park Young-sun, former minister and Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Seoul mayoral primary, announced a healthcare policy focused on one-stop healthcare at Anguk Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 16th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

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