In Political Turmoil, Oh Se-hoon Chooses 'Focus on Governance' and Urges Civil Servants to Uphold Political Neutrality (Comprehensive)

Held Executive Meeting and Promised "Implementation of Livelihood Economy Support Measures"
Expecting Message as a Potential Candidate... "Doing Best in Position"
With Impeachment Failure, Keeping Quiet... Monitoring Political Sphere and Public Opinion Situation

On the 9th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated, "As the Mayor of Seoul, I feel a heavy responsibility for stabilizing the lives of the people," and added, "Seoul City will establish public service discipline and make special efforts to ensure the political neutrality of public officials." Mayor Oh, who has refrained from political messages after mentioning 'opposition to impeachment' and 'responsible prime minister system' following the emergency martial law situation, appears to be prioritizing his responsibilities as the Mayor of Seoul amid the chaotic political climate. The political affairs team of Seoul City is closely monitoring the political and public opinion situation.

On the same day, Mayor Oh presided over an executive meeting at Seoul City Hall in the morning, attended by all heads of departments, headquarters, and bureaus, stating, "Seoul City and I will do our best steadfastly in our original roles," conveying this message.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is giving an opening remark at the executive meeting held at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 9th. Photo by Seoul City

In particular, Mayor Oh expressed concern about economic contraction due to the impeachment political situation, in addition to citizen safety measures, promising, "We will monitor economic policy-related situations such as prices, consumer spending, delinquency rates of small business owners, and support for venture companies and small and medium-sized enterprises, and immediately implement support policies in areas where the difficulties of the livelihood economy are intensifying." He further explained, "We will promote the 'Small Business Owners Support Project,' which systematically includes everything from immediate financial support to sales increase measures, to promptly support self-employed businesses facing increasing difficulties."

He also proposed tailored support for vulnerable groups. Mayor Oh mentioned strengthening support for cold-vulnerable groups such as homeless people and residents of jjokbang (small rooms) who need care during winter, and previewed the consideration of expanding night emergency treatment centers and disease-specific dedicated hospitals to address medical system gaps caused by legislative conflicts.

Earlier, on the 4th, the day after the emergency martial law situation, Mayor Oh emphasized, "We will do our best to ensure that citizens' daily lives, including transportation, public safety, firefighting, and public healthcare in Seoul, are not disrupted," and stated, "We will take responsibility for your stable daily lives." Having even canceled a scheduled overseas business trip, he conveyed his determination to focus on administrative service stability and citizen safety as the Mayor of Seoul.

As a potential presidential candidate, he did send messages to the political sphere. Immediately after President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of emergency martial law, he officially stated, "I oppose martial law. Martial law must be withdrawn," and during an emergency briefing, he argued that the current situation was triggered by the opposition party's 'extreme shield parliament.'

Regarding President Yoon's decision on martial law, he criticized it as "an act against the essence of democracy." He described it as "an act that turned back the clock of the Republic of Korea's historical development," and expressed the opinion that "considering the fact that the extreme shield parliament for administrative and judicial impeachment for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was the biggest cause of this situation, a re-examination of the national governance structure is necessary."

However, in the situation turned into an impeachment political crisis, he has been relatively reserved. It was reported that Mayor Oh did not make any separate remarks at the temporary cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office, presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo the day before. When meeting with reporters after the meeting, he drew a line by saying, "This is not the state to have political discussions here."

Mayor Oh has not yet made an official statement regarding the failure of the National Assembly to pass the presidential impeachment resolution. On the same day, seeming mindful of the political neutrality of public officials, he only said, "All public officials, including the military and police, have meaning in their existence when they are 'where they should be' and 'doing what they should do' for the people," and "According to Article 7 of the Constitution, public officials are servants of the entire people and are responsible to the people." A senior Seoul City official added, "In this chaotic situation, supporting citizens' safety and normal economic activities is the most urgent task."

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