Oh Se-hoon’s 'My Way Greeting'... Seoul Metropolitan Council Faces Continuous Criticism

Seoul City Council Democratic Party Criticizes Mayor Oh Se-hoon's My Way Personnel Moves... Yet Mayor Oh Appears Unfazed, Seen as Determined to Appoint His Own People

Mayor Oh Se-hoon (Image source: Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] In most elections, after the election ends, there is often a distribution of rewards among campaign personnel. For the winner, it serves as appropriate compensation for those who contributed to the victory and as a means to secure a strong support group for future endeavors through favorable appointments. However, it sometimes faces criticism as indiscriminate patronage appointments that disregard ability and trust.

Since Mayor Oh Se-hoon's inauguration, controversies surrounding appointments of heads of Seoul Metropolitan Government-affiliated organizations have not ceased. On the 1st, Mayor Oh appointed Kwon Young-geol as chairman and Lee Kyung-don as CEO of the Seoul Design Foundation. These individuals led the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) and Han River Renaissance projects during the first term of Oh Se-hoon's administration when they worked at the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Design Headquarters. Ahn Ho-sang, CEO of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, who has been criticized for alleged involvement in the ‘cultural and arts blacklist incident,’ is also a person from ‘those days’ under Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

In a 2013 survey conducted by Dong-A Ilbo and the architectural monthly SPACE among 100 architecture experts on the ‘worst modern buildings constructed since liberation,’ the DDP ranked 5th. From the start, the DDP was harshly criticized for selecting a design based solely on international reputation without considering the unique history and sentiment of Dongdaemun. During construction, frequent design changes caused the initially planned project cost of 159.3 billion KRW to balloon to 504.9 billion KRW, and numerous cultural assets were discovered during the process, leading to ongoing controversies over rushed and showy administration.

The Han River Renaissance project was criticized by the Board of Audit and Inspection in 2011 for inflated demand forecasts and economic feasibility in the service report. It was also revealed that the project wasted 8.9 billion KRW on the Olympic Expressway three-dimensionalization project, which lacked economic viability, and there were suspicions of unfair profits given to private operators through the Sebit Floating Islands. The Sebit Floating Islands were ranked 3rd in the 2013 survey of worst modern buildings.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has been criticized for turning Seoul Metropolitan Government-affiliated public institutions into personal organizations through entrenched personnel, revolving-door appointments, and code appointments, has now appointed Moon Hye-jung, former deputy director of the Yeouido Institute and a member of his campaign team, as CEO of the Seoul 50 Plus Foundation.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Democratic Party (Representative Assemblymen Jo Sang-ho, Seodaemun 4) expresses deep regret over this typical patronage appointment, which lacks verified expertise and capability.

The Seoul 50 Plus Foundation is a Seoul Metropolitan Government-funded institution responsible for creating social contribution jobs, fostering a senior job ecosystem, and providing comprehensive customized retirement preparation services. It supports the 50+ generation, which is approaching the centenarian era, in preparing for important life transitions. The foundation’s CEO must possess a deep understanding of social responsibilities, broad perspectives, and high-level expertise. The new CEO, who boasts credentials such as SBS’s first public recruitment professional MC, deputy director of the Yeouido Institute, and spokesperson for the Saenuri Party, raises concerns within the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Democratic Party about what she can actually do for the 50+ generation, which accounts for 23% of Seoul’s population, in terms of new life planning.

There must be clear principles for distributing rewards. If appointments are made through fair and transparent procedures to individuals with appropriate abilities and qualities recognized by the majority of society, there would be no problem even if they are from the campaign team. Unfortunately, the personnel appointments under Mayor Oh Se-hoon, including a former message secretary with an extreme right-wing YouTuber background, special advisor Kang Cheol-won for public livelihood, and Moon Hye-jung as the new CEO of the 50 Plus Foundation, seem far from professional and fair.

On the 7th, Moon Jang-gil, spokesperson for the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Democratic Party, issued a statement criticizing, “Pro-government parachute appointments have taken control of public institutions under government ministries,” and disparaged the current administration’s personnel as ‘CAMCODER’ (Campaign Camp, Code, Democratic Party) appointments. He noted that the mayor’s Facebook posts during his candidacy, which mocked such appointments, might have been a prelude to his administration and a self-confession of his intention to ‘skillfully’ implement campaign and code appointments from day one as an act of reciprocal gratitude.

During a recent National Assembly audit, Assemblywoman Lim E-ja (People Power Party) said, “Personnel with expertise, management, and auditing capabilities should be appointed, but CAMCODER appointments cause disruptions in public institution operations and increase the burden on the public.” It is worth reflecting deeply by replacing ‘CAMCODER’ with ‘Oh Se-hoon faction’ and ‘the public’ with ‘citizens.’

Mayor Oh Se-hoon must immediately stop the patronage appointments of public institution heads that lack professionalism, morality, and procedural legitimacy appropriate to their positions, and promote normal administration by appointing professionals through fair and transparent procedures.

Mayor Oh has caused deep disappointment among Seoul citizens by exaggerating others’ faults and applying double standards to his own. The Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Democratic Party feels devastated as a partner in Seoul’s administration by the mayor’s behavior of ignoring procedures and principles under the pretext of ‘no suitable candidates’ until his ‘people’ are appointed, thereby causing administrative gaps.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Democratic Party strongly urges Mayor Oh Se-hoon once again to promptly resolve Seoul’s pressing issues and focus on policy development that improves the lives of Seoul citizens by appointing talent with rational and balanced perspectives.

Additionally, the party criticized Mayor Oh for allowing former Kyungsilyeon headquarters chief Kim Heon-dong, who failed the second interview for the SH Corporation president candidate, to reapply, leading the SH Executive Recommendation Committee to submit him as the top candidate to Seoul City, effectively putting him on the verge of appointment as SH president.

However, Mayor Oh appears to have expressed his intention to disregard such criticisms entirely.

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