Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Ahn Cheol-soo Actively Pursue Unification, but Differences Over Method Remain Large

Sudden Meeting the Day Before... Discussions on Vision Debate, Policy Coordination Team, etc.
Differences in Views from Accepting People Power Party's Poll to Detailed Wording

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Geum Bo-ryeong] Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party candidate for Seoul mayor, are actively pursuing unification, including holding a second meeting. However, since there is still a significant difference in views regarding the unification method, it is expected that difficulties are inevitable.

On the 11th, Oh appeared on KBS Radio’s ‘Choi Kyung-young’s Strongest Current Affairs’ and said, "I also met separately with Ahn last night," adding, "We agreed in the first meeting to unify by the deadline set and to hold a joint vision presentation." Ahn also confirmed the meeting with Oh to reporters on the same day. Ahn said, "During the opposition unification process for the Seoul mayoral election, I proposed launching a separate policy consultation team to discuss policy directions if elected mayor, apart from the negotiation teams for the primary, and Oh readily agreed," he said.

The key issue is the unification method. From the afternoon, the working-level negotiation teams from both sides plan to discuss the unification method and other matters. Oh has expressed willingness to accept the primary by public opinion poll method, which Ahn’s side had advocated. However, since the People Power Party’s official stance has not yet been finalized, it remains to be seen whether the public opinion poll method will be adopted.

Even if both sides agree to unify through a public opinion poll, detailed issues such as the method and questions remain contentious. The People Power Party still prefers asking who is the most suitable opposition unified candidate. On the other hand, the People’s Party demands asking about competitiveness. It is known that the suitability method favors Oh, while the competitiveness method favors Ahn.

The speed of working-level negotiations is also a point of contention. Kwon Eun-hee, the floor leader of the People’s Party, said on CBS Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show, "The People Power Party side is delaying the working-level negotiations, causing necessary tasks to be left undone." Meanwhile, the People Power Party plans to focus discussions on the schedule for debates during the negotiations, suggesting potential conflicts over negotiation speed. However, they have agreed to hold one vision debate in addition to the TV debate through contact between the candidates.

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