'Election Law Violation' Oh Se-hoon: "Remember Py City as a 'No-Go Project'... Police's Excessive Search"

City Council Municipal Inquiry Response

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who is under investigation for alleged violation of the Public Official Election Act related to the Pie City project, has explained that he "remembered the project as being stalled and that permits were not granted." The Pie City project was canceled after permits were issued during Mayor Oh's previous term.

On the 2nd, Mayor Oh stated this during a policy question session at the Seoul Metropolitan Council when questioned about the Pie City project. When Seo Yoon-gi, a council member from the Democratic Party, pointed out, "In August 2008, the Seoul city held an urban planning committee meeting and approved officetel permits related to the Pie City project. How could you not remember this at all?" Mayor Oh responded, "After the police raid, I was briefed on which documents were taken, and as I recalled and listened, I remembered a little, but that project ultimately stalled and was canceled."

Mayor Oh emphasized that his controversial remarks during the Seoul mayoral by-election period were due to a memory lapse regarding the Pie City project. He said, "To me, Pie City remains a project that did not go through," adding, "Permits were issued during the previous term, but the company struggled financially and eventually went bankrupt."

He also protested that the police conducted an excessive raid on the 31st of last month. Mayor Oh said, "I did not remember during the debate, but later recalled some details. The police could have simply inquired with the Seoul city in advance, so I do not understand why they had to conduct a raid."

Furthermore, Mayor Oh added, "I cannot believe that no one remembers that a city official who worked under me at the time was punished and found to have mishandled matters, yet no one has been penalized."

The problematic statement was made during a candidate debate on April 5, before the Seoul mayoral by-election. At that time, he said, "To my recollection, Pie City was not a matter permitted during my term." In response, civic groups including Ahn Jin-geol, director of the Minsheng Economy Research Institute, filed a complaint, claiming the statement constituted false information under the Public Official Election Act. To investigate the complaint, the police conducted a raid on the annex of Seoul City Hall for more than seven hours on the 31st of last month.

After hearing Mayor Oh's explanation, Council Member Seo criticized, saying, "One must be humble before the facts." Seo said, "The multi-trillion won Pie City project involved all sorts of corruption, with close aides of the MB administration and even his own close aides serving prison sentences. How can he claim not to remember? I told him to be humble before his memory, but he must be humble before the facts."

Before the policy question session, the Seoul Metropolitan Council passed the second supplementary budget, which includes funds for COVID-19 prevention measures.

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