Seoul Metropolitan Council Strongly Criticizes and Urges Suspension of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's Inappropriate SH President Code Appointment

Kim Hee-geol, Chair of the Seoul Metropolitan Council Urban Planning Management Committee, Strongly Criticizes Mayor Oh's Behavior for Requesting SH President Candidate Re-nomination Without Special Objections... Seoul Metropolitan Council Democratic Party Spokesperson Also Issues Statement Criticizing Mayor Oh

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim Hee-geol, Chairperson of the Urban Planning and Management Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (photo · Democratic Party of Korea, Yangcheon 4), strongly criticized Mayor Oh Se-hoon of Seoul for demanding a re-nomination of the two CEO candidates recommended by the SH Executive Recommendation Committee on the 26th of last month without clearly stating the reasons for rejection, urging Mayor Oh to stop making politically motivated appointments and immediately proceed with the appointment process.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council had already formed a special personnel hearing committee in July to conduct an in-depth verification process on CEO candidate Kim Hyun-ah, ultimately passing a resolution deeming her 'unqualified,' which led to the candidate’s voluntary withdrawal and the termination of the appointment process.

Subsequently, in August, after a re-application process for the SH Corporation CEO position, the Executive Recommendation Committee recommended two candidates to Mayor Oh. However, Mayor Oh refused to appoint the CEO without any reason, which is expected to prolong the vacancy of the SH Corporation CEO position.

According to Article 56-4, Paragraph 4 of the Enforcement Decree of the Local Public Enterprises Act, the head of a local government may request the Executive Recommendation Committee to re-nominate candidates if the CEO candidate is deemed to have 'disqualifications' or is 'significantly inappropriate' for the management of the corporation. However, Seoul City has demanded only the re-nomination of the CEO candidates without clear explanation.

Additionally, a specific candidate who was not selected among the final two candidates recently revealed in a media interview that they had been offered support by Mayor Oh Se-hoon, effectively acknowledging that they were Mayor Oh’s de facto nominee. Mayor Oh also admitted this during the recent city council session’s administrative questioning, raising suspicions of politically motivated appointments.

In response, Chairperson Kim stated, “It is justifiable to criticize the refusal to appoint CEO candidates recommended through a proper procedure by the Executive Recommendation Committee simply because they do not align with the mayor’s preferences, and the demand for re-nomination. Before requesting re-nomination, the mayor should have first provided reasons that Seoul citizens could accept.”

Finally, he urged, “Mayor Oh should promptly proceed with the appointment process for the SH Corporation CEO position, which has been vacant for five months, to ensure housing welfare and housing stability for the 10 million residents of Seoul.”

Alongside this, the Democratic Party of Korea in the Seoul Metropolitan Council (lead representatives Jo Sang-ho, Seodaemun 4) strongly condemned Mayor Oh Se-hoon for causing the indefinite vacancy of the SH Corporation CEO position due to unreasonable politically motivated appointments.

On the 7th, Song Myeong-hwa, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea in the Seoul Metropolitan Council, issued a statement saying, “Recently, Seoul City judged both candidates selected by the SH Corporation Executive Recommendation Committee (hereafter, the Recommendation Committee) as unqualified. Accordingly, the Recommendation Committee must reopen the recruitment and recommend candidates again. The process of recruitment, application reception, document and interview screening, and Recommendation Committee recommendation alone takes nearly a month. Afterward, a personnel hearing by the Seoul Metropolitan Council must also be conducted. Given that the position has already been vacant for five months, seriously threatening Seoul’s housing supply, Mayor Oh’s choice is deeply regrettable.”

She further claimed that the general consensus is that Mayor Oh’s disqualification judgment was influenced by his aversion to the failures of candidate Kim Hyun-ah and former Economic Justice Practice Citizens’ Coalition Real Estate Construction Reform Headquarters Director Kim Heon-dong.

Previously, Mayor Oh had revealed that he first proposed the SH Corporation recruitment to former Director Kim Heon-dong of the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice. Despite the mayor having no authority to recommend or appoint beyond nomination rights, he openly disclosed prior coordination with a specific individual and, as the final appointing authority, exerted influence over the recruitment process.

This was criticized as an act tantamount to a pre-selection, turning other applicants into mere bystanders and severely undermining the public nature of the public corporation, which should be fair and transparent in hiring its CEO.

In particular, regarding the disqualification of candidate Kim Heon-dong by the Recommendation Committee, the mayor engaged in media manipulation by citing internal meeting materials and individual evaluation reports, which are supposed to be confidential, misleading the public as if the Seoul Metropolitan Council had caused Kim Heon-dong’s failure. Moreover, the Democratic Party of Korea in the Seoul Metropolitan Council stated that Mayor Oh’s ‘blind disqualification judgment’ deceives the 10 million citizens of Seoul, raising serious questions about his qualifications as mayor.

After the disqualification of nominee Kim Hyun-ah, who had a ‘record of extreme double standards’ and ‘history of offensive remarks,’ Seoul citizens and the Seoul Metropolitan Council urged the recommendation of candidates with abilities, vision, and morality that meet the public’s expectations rather than politically motivated appointments. They strongly rebutted Mayor Oh’s reckless and arrogant response of simply labeling candidates as ‘unqualified’ without clear and specific reasons, despite the solemn mandate from citizens.

Article 58 of Korea’s Local Public Enterprises Act clearly states that ‘the CEO and auditor of a local public enterprise must be appointed from among those recommended by the Executive Recommendation Committee,’ affirming the legal and procedural status of the Recommendation Committee. By issuing an unqualified judgment without clear reasons to suit his preferences, Mayor Oh has nullified the Recommendation Committee and reduced the SH Corporation to a personal organization, the statement argued.

Therefore, the Democratic Party of Korea in the Seoul Metropolitan Council strongly urges Mayor Oh Se-hoon to immediately stop the coercive power struggle that holds Seoul’s administration hostage. They also sternly warn that they will no longer tolerate Mayor Oh’s ‘extralegal behavior that ignores principles and procedures’ and ‘anti-democratic behavior that seeks to dominate citizens.’

They demanded that Mayor Oh take responsibility for the prolonged vacancy of the SH Corporation CEO position caused by unsuitable personnel and political judgment and immediately apologize to the 10 million citizens of Seoul. They emphasized that now is the time to focus on stable Seoul administration through fair appointments based on principles and common sense.

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