'4-term Seoul Mayor' Oh Se-hoon: "Presidential Election? A Luxurious Thought... Leading Policies for Four Vulnerable Groups"

Oh Se-hoon "The responsibility and weight of the Seoul Mayor's duties are not lighter than the President's"
Historic first 4-term victory, surpassing Democratic Party candidate Song Young-gil

On the 2nd, Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's candidate for Seoul mayor, expressed his thoughts as his victory became certain at the camp vote counting room set up at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] In the June 1 local elections, People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon defeated Democratic Party candidate Song Young-gil by a large margin, becoming the first four-term mayor of Seoul in constitutional history. Oh maintained the lead he held throughout the election period until the end, solidifying his position as a presidential contender.

On the 2nd, after his victory was confirmed early in the morning, Oh gave an interview at the election campaign situation room set up at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Regarding the assessment that he had established himself as a presidential candidate, he responded, "That is a very luxurious thought for me," adding, "In reality, the responsibilities and weight of the Seoul mayor's duties are not lighter than those of the president."

He also stated that he would carry out his first pledge concerning the four vulnerable groups without any setbacks. Oh said, "Over the next four years, various new policies aimed at supporting socially disadvantaged people in the four areas of livelihood, housing, education, and healthcare will be introduced," and added, "I will personally lead and ensure the smooth progress of policies for these four vulnerable sectors."

Furthermore, he pledged to achieve the goal of making Seoul one of the global top five cities. Oh emphasized, "Achieving the goal of making Seoul a global top five city is by no means easy," but added, "With the belief that Seoul can become a truly mature advanced city that competes on values rather than mere numbers, I will do my best to elevate Seoul to that status."

Oh, who succeeded in becoming a four-term mayor for the first time in history, was born in 1961 as the eldest son among one son and one daughter in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. After graduating from Da-il High School, he entered the Department of Law at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Later, during his sophomore year, he transferred to Korea University Law School and passed the 26th bar exam in 1984.

Oh was first elected mayor of Seoul in 2006, defeating Uri Party candidate Kang Geum-sil with 61.1% of the vote. In the 2010 mayoral election, he won re-election by a narrow margin of 0.6 percentage points with 47.4% of the vote against Democratic Party candidate Han Myeong-sook. However, he resigned from the mayoral office amid conflicts with the Seoul Metropolitan Council over the 'free school meals' policy.

After suffering consecutive defeats in general elections, his return to politics was repeatedly thwarted, but he made a comeback as Seoul mayor by defeating Democratic Party candidate Park Young-sun in the April 7 by-election last year.

In this local election, Oh, who succeeded in his fourth-term bid, led Democratic Party candidate Song by about 20 percentage points. The 39th term of the Seoul mayor will begin on the 1st of next month.

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