Oh Se-hoon "In a position to lead the party... Limits in persuading the public if expansion is not pursued"

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Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon pointed out that "the party's identity must be changed to a course that can expand its outreach." This is read as a de facto rebuttal to Hwang Woo-yeo, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, who cited 'conservative division' as the cause of the general election defeat and emphasized the 'establishment of conservative identity.' In the situation where the ruling party lost its centripetal force after the general election, Oh appears to be raising his voice on political issues to strengthen his position as a potential candidate for the next presidential election.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was on a business trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), held a meeting with accompanying reporters at a hotel in downtown Abu Dhabi on the 9th (local time).
[Photo by Seoul City]

Mayor Oh, who had been on a 5-night, 7-day business trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the 5th, held a meeting with accompanying reporters at a hotel in downtown Abu Dhabi on the 9th (local time) and delivered this message, saying, "Regardless of whether I agree or disagree with the Emergency Committee Chairman, or whether I agree or disagree with the party's policy direction, I am in a responsible position as a senior member of the party and should rather lead the party."

Before departure, Mayor Oh urged a major change in the ruling party, which is stuck in the old conservative perspective, by stating through the media that the ideology and line of the endangered conservatives should be rebuilt as 'accompanying the weak.' Within the party, there was also a sensed atmosphere of trying to check Mayor Oh.

However, Mayor Oh cautioned against overinterpretation, saying, "Since it has not been long since we lost by a considerable number of seats in the election, I naturally think it is my duty to express opinions on that part." At the same time, he added, "If the party is not operated in a direction that expands its outreach, there will be limits to persuading the public with messages from the party just before the election." This emphasized once again his political philosophy of redefining conservative ideology and line as 'accompanying the weak.'

Regarding the difference in position with Emergency Committee Chairman Hwang, he said, "In elections, expanding outreach is important, but the essence is also important. In that sense, what Chairman Hwang said is not wrong." The conclusion is that conservatives neither united nor expanded their outreach.

On the repeated political speculation about Han Dong-hoon’s entry, he drew a line by saying, "That is something he will handle himself," but also pointed out again the cause of the election defeat, saying, "We walked into the opposition party's frames such as the judgment of the Joseon Dynasty and the judgment of the activist group." This means that although it was a predictable situation for the opposition party to raise a judgment of the regime, a strategy to turn voters' attention from the past to the future was not used. Regarding media reports that he criticized former Emergency Committee Chairman Han, he rebutted, "Of course, I said what I had to say."

Regarding the new floor leader of the People Power Party, Choo Kyung-ho, he expressed expectations that "there will be a healthy tension where fierce debates between the party and government occur where necessary, and cooperation happens where needed." This reflects concerns that the decisive mistake in the last election was that "the party was not one that spoke frankly to the president." Mayor Oh viewed that "the election results showed an operation weighted toward party-government unity or harmony." About the upcoming party convention, he predicted, "There will be fierce factional struggles." He added, "Various solutions will emerge within the party, but I expect it will naturally be organized toward expanding outreach."

In the political circle, with Mayor Oh being steadily mentioned as a potential candidate for the next presidential election, it is expected that he will show a different pace by actively intervening in party issues going forward. Recently, Mayor Oh met separately with both the Seoul area losing and winning candidates within the party, and also held a meeting with the Democratic Party's Seoul area winning candidates. This is interpreted as part of the same context, serving as a foundation for outreach expansion and a move to demonstrate cooperation.

Regarding the current situation related to medical reform, he said, "I have already stated that the direction was generally correct at the early stage of the medical reform announcement," adding, "It is neither desirable nor meaningful to mention specific numbers." However, referring to the doctor vacancies at some municipal medical centers under Seoul City over the past three years, he added, "Even though we raised the wages about twice, there are no applicants. In such a situation, it can only be seen as a doctor supply problem."

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