Oh Se-hoon "Need to Improve Blank Trust System... Will Sell Held Stocks Soon"

Litigation Against Blank Trust Rejection, Expresses Intent to Sell Ahead of First Trial Verdict
"Stock Price Dropped Significantly Causing Large Loss... Will Sell Soon to Clear Misunderstandings"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who filed an administrative appeal last August against the blind trust order, announced that he will soon sell the stocks he holds.

At a press conference marking his first anniversary in office on the 12th, Mayor Oh stated, "I am being attacked as if there is a hidden intention to increase my wealth, so to dispel misunderstandings, I will sell the stocks I hold soon."

Mayor Oh said, "I heard that the first trial decision will be made soon. Depending on the outcome, I have not yet decided whether to sell the stocks then or before."

He added, "Since a suspension of execution was granted through the administrative appeal, the blind trust order is currently suspended, and I made investments possible under that condition. Although the stock prices have fallen significantly and the losses are large after the blind trust controversy became an issue, I have decided to sell despite the losses."

Local government heads must sell stocks within two months or place them in a blind trust if the stocks are related to their duties and exceed 30 million KRW. Mayor Oh filed an administrative appeal last August against the disposition by the Ministry of Personnel Management.

Regarding the reason for filing the lawsuit, Mayor Oh explained, "The practice so far has been that the Seoul mayor must sell stocks in all industries. Public officials must be honest and manage their assets transparently, but I do not think it is reasonable to bear all the expected losses that come with becoming a high-ranking public official."

He pointed out the need to introduce a system that manages stocks through multiple blind trust institutions rather than selling them. He said, "In Korea, the only financial institution that accepts blind trusts is NongHyup, and NongHyup sells the stocks as soon as they receive them. This is no different from a sales order, and I believe it is a flawed system, so I urged for system improvement."

Mayor Oh added, "I suggested during a call with the Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission that having multiple financial institutions would create competition and better management, establishing a system to manage the principal's assets. Although I have not received a response yet, there is still a reason to continue the lawsuit."

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