O Se-hoon Visits 'Chinjeongjip', Lee Jun-seok Says "Success in City Administration is the First Button for the Presidential Election... I Will Support"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, are attending the People Power Party Seoul City Party - Seoul Metropolitan Government Party-Government Meeting held at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul on the 2nd, and are talking before the meeting begins. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, expressed his intention to fully support Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to secure victory in the presidential election. The two, who have been key to expanding the party's influence, plan to join forces to boost opposition support in next year's presidential race.

On the morning of the 2nd, Lee and Mayor Oh attended the 'Seoul Metropolitan Party-Seoul City Government Party Meeting' held at the People Power Party headquarters. The meeting was also attended by Park Sung-joong, chairman of the People Power Party Seoul Metropolitan Party, Seoul-area lawmakers, and party committee chairpersons.

Before the meeting, Lee said, "The best way for us to appeal to Seoul citizens in the presidential election is to ensure Mayor Oh's successful settlement," adding, "Through party-government consultations, we want to support Mayor Oh and, based on this, hope that our party will continue to be the choice of Seoul citizens next year."

Chairman Park also said, "Our party's influence is expanding significantly," noting, "Before the party convention, new memberships were about 600 per month, but after the election period, it has increased more than fivefold." He then predicted, "If this momentum continues, it could be a green light for the presidential and local elections."

Mayor Oh said, "As you know, the situation in the Seoul City Council is not easy. Even after the organizational restructuring and the passage of the supplementary budget, dark clouds still loom," adding, "There are many tasks to be done in the second half of the year, but I plan to accomplish them one by one with the help of our party, which is like my home base." Mayor Oh engaged in sharp exchanges with city council members over some new project budget issues during the city council's administrative questioning session that concluded the day before.

During the approximately one-hour closed meeting, Lee and Mayor Oh gathered suggestions from each region regarding Seoul's development plans and discussed issues such as safe basic income and real estate concerns.

Regarding the meeting, Lee told reporters immediately afterward, "Since Mayor Oh overcame an initial disadvantage and was elected with the support of party members, I intend to promote communication with the party more strongly than any previous local government leader."

Meanwhile, Mayor Oh reiterated his stance that he will not run as a candidate in the next presidential primary. When asked by reporters if his decision not to run in the next presidential election remains unchanged, he replied, "Yes. I have said it several times."

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