The Biggest 'Crisis' After Oh Se-hoon's Election... What Is the Breakthrough? [Park Jong-il's Local Communication]

After 5 months since Mayor Oh's inauguration, SH Corporation's appointment failed amid intense prosecution and police investigations, and Seoul Transportation Corporation strike announced, facing the greatest internal and external crisis... SH president nomination shows signs of resolving issues first, Seoul City Council urged to respond calmly without excitement.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mayor Oh Se-hoon is facing the greatest crisis since his inauguration.

Mayor Oh, who made a spectacular comeback after 10 years through the April 7 by-election, is under all-out investigation, including a police search and seizure over allegations of election law violations and a prosecution investigation into suspicions of self-compensation in the Naegok district.

Moreover, he has yet to nominate a candidate for the SH Corporation president, and Seoul Transportation Corporation has announced a full strike on the 14th, continuing a series of bleak news.

Meanwhile, on the afternoon of the 3rd, during a policy question session at the Seoul Metropolitan Council, when Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Kyung-sun related to Oh Se-hoon TV summoned the first and second deputy mayors and the chief of the policy office to answer instead of questioning Mayor Oh directly, and when Kim Ki-deok, the vice chairman of the council, did not grant him the right to speak, Mayor Oh said, “What are you afraid of that you cannot ask me? If this continues, I will no longer respond to policy questions,” and walked out.

After a two-hour recess, Kim In-ho, chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, gave Mayor Oh the floor, temporarily resolving the situation but leaving a bitter aftertaste.

This scene drew attention as it overlapped with the moment in 2011 when Mayor Oh walked out amid the highest conflict with the Seoul Metropolitan Council over free school meals.

◇ Police and prosecution launch investigations into election law violations and Naegok district compensation

The Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a search and seizure of the Seoul Mayor’s office for over seven hours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the 31st of last month over allegations of violating the Public Official Election Act.

On that day, the police searched and seized materials from the departments under the Urban Planning Bureau to secure documents related to the Py City permit from 2006 to 2011.

Regarding this, Mayor Oh explained during the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s policy question session on the 2nd that he remembered the project as having failed and the permit not being granted. The Py City project was permitted during Mayor Oh’s previous term but was later canceled.

Mayor Oh emphasized that his statements during the Seoul mayoral by-election were due to a memory error regarding the Py City project. He said, “To me, Py City remains a failed project,” adding, “The permit was issued during the previous term, and the company went bankrupt due to financial difficulties.”

On April 5, before the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, Mayor Oh said at a candidate debate, “To my recollection, Py City was not a matter permitted during my term.”

Subsequently, civic groups including Ahn Jin-geol, director of the Minsheng Economy Research Institute, filed complaints alleging that the statement constituted false information under the Public Official Election Act.

However, since the false information was revealed through a public broadcast, the Public Official Election Act holds strict accountability, indicating the matter is not trivial.

At the same time, the prosecution is accelerating its investigation by summoning former Seoul city officials as witnesses regarding suspicions of false information disclosure about Mayor Oh’s Naegok-dong land. The Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Kyung-geun) summoned Kim Hyo-soo, former director of the Seoul Housing Bureau, as a witness on the 31st of last month to confirm the circumstances under which the land owned by Mayor Oh’s family in Naegok-dong was designated as a public housing district.

Earlier, the Democratic Party raised suspicions during the April Seoul mayoral by-election campaign that Mayor Oh, while serving as mayor in 2009, was involved in designating his family’s land as a public housing district and received 3.6 billion won in “self-compensation.” Mayor Oh’s side countered, stating, “At the time, we were unaware of the existence and location of this land, and the district designation was a matter decided solely by the Housing Bureau director.”

Subsequently, both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party filed complaints with the prosecution accusing each other of false information disclosure.

Thus, Mayor Oh, who made a dazzling return as Seoul mayor through the April 7 by-election and set a record as a three-term mayor, is now facing investigations by the prosecution and police within just over five months.

◇ SH Corporation president candidate rejected twice... Seoul Transportation Corporation announces strike

Another issue troubling Mayor Oh is the SH Corporation president problem, one of the two major subsidiaries of Seoul City, and the strike announcement by Seoul Transportation Corporation.

In the overwhelmingly opposition-controlled Seoul Metropolitan Council, nothing is easy, and appointing the SH Corporation president is no exception.

First, former Saenuri Party proportional representative Kim Hyun-ah was nominated but faced backlash during the Seoul Metropolitan Council hearing and voluntarily withdrew.

Then, Mayor Oh put forward Kim Heon-dong, former head of the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, who had been active in civic groups throughout his life, as a bold candidate, but he suffered the humiliation of not even passing the interview stage.

Kim, who supported candidate Oh Se-hoon in the April 7 by-election, was criticized for being appointed as the SH Corporation president candidate as a form of reward.

The SH Corporation President Recommendation Committee submitted Han Chang-seop, former head of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Public Housing Promotion Team, and Jung Yoo-seung, former head of SH Regeneration Headquarters, as first and second priority candidates to Seoul City on the afternoon of the 25th of last month.

However, Seoul City has not decided on either candidate, and the SH Corporation president vacancy is expected to continue for some time, accelerating management leakage.

Meanwhile, Seoul Transportation Corporation is expected to face severe financial deterioration, with a cumulative deficit of 1 trillion won last year and projected to reach about 1.6 trillion won this year.

Kim Sang-beom, president of Seoul Transportation Corporation, announced restructuring plans, which the labor union opposed, leading to a strike announcement starting on the 14th.

However, the corporation has prepared replacement personnel, and given the difficulties faced by small business owners due to COVID-19, a Seoul subway strike is unlikely to proceed easily.

◇ Is there a breakthrough?

Mayor Oh is thus cornered and facing the greatest political crisis. Although there have been continuous talks about his next presidential run since his election as Seoul mayor, he must first put out the fire at hand.

While legal responses are expected regarding the investigations, direct and straightforward measures seem necessary to handle the SH Corporation president nomination and the Seoul Transportation Corporation strike.

In particular, it seems desirable to respect the SH Corporation President Recommendation Committee’s opinion and appoint the first-priority candidate.

Especially, Han Chang-seop, former Ministry of Land official, rose to first priority through a normal interview process despite having no special connection with Mayor Oh. As a technical civil service official with practical expertise, appointing him is widely regarded as the right choice. This would help SH Corporation overcome the long vacancy and normalize management. Emotional responses are unnecessary.

Mayor Oh needs to show this normalcy to secure leadership.

Additionally, Mayor Oh’s behavior on the afternoon of the 3rd at the Seoul Metropolitan Council, where he raised his voice and walked out because a council member was not granted the right to speak, has been widely criticized as inappropriate.

A Seoul Metropolitan Council member said, “No matter how angry Mayor Oh is, I hope he shows a more composed and mature attitude,” adding, “It is disappointing to see such behavior, very different from former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon’s calm responses to opposition lawmakers’ questioning in the 20th National Assembly.” This remark deserves reflection.

In difficult times, Mayor Oh’s leadership is expected to solve problems one by one with a normal and composed attitude.

How he overcomes these difficulties will determine his future political trajectory.

His next presidential run depends on himself.

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