Jung and Oh Clash at Debate, Trading Blows Over 'Lack of Safety Awareness' and 'Incompetence'

Each Candidate Attends Kwanhoon Debate Separately

Clash Over Responsibility for Missing Rebar at GTX

Jung Won-oh: "Problem with Seoul City's Safety Awareness"

Oh Se-hoon: "Jung's Past Controversies, Immorality"

On May 20, just one day before the official start of the 9th nationwide local elections campaign, the negative exchanges between Jung Won-oh, the Democratic Party candidate for Seoul mayor, and Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate, have intensified. With both ruling and opposition parties joining the fray, the election race is taking on the character of a fierce battle.

On the morning of the same day, both Oh and Jung attended the "Seoul Mayor Candidate Invitation Kwanhoon Debate" held at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. However, the debate was not conducted as a direct face-off between the two candidates, but rather in a format where each candidate took turns discussing with a panel.

Seohun Oh, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, is attending the "Seoul Mayor Candidate Invitation Kwanhun Debate" held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 20th, participating in a Q&A session. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

Speaking first, candidate Oh addressed the recent controversy over missing rebar at Suseo Metropolitan Express Railway (GTX)-A Samseong Station, saying, "This matter is managed by the Urban Infrastructure Headquarters, and I was not briefed until the work was suspended." He added, "From a technical perspective, there was a judgment that reinforcing the structure was not enough of an issue to warrant an immediate halt to construction."

Oh also mentioned safety policies such as installing subway screen doors and making CCTV installation at construction sites mandatory, stating, "Jung's camp is raising concerns about a lack of safety awareness, but I would like to preemptively refute that. I am confident that many accidents are being prevented in advance."

Previously, at the Broadcast Journalists Club debate the day before, candidate Jung criticized, "The fact that such an important decision was made not by the mayor but by the head of the Urban Infrastructure Headquarters clearly exposes the current lack of safety awareness and perception within Seoul City."

Jung's camp is intensifying its offensive by focusing on this issue. In the afternoon, they plan to hold a meeting with construction experts to highlight the missing rebar problem at GTX-A Samseong Station. The National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee is also holding a plenary session to conduct an emergency inquiry into the matter, with the Democratic Party providing full support.

Oh's camp is countering by bringing up past controversies involving candidate Jung. After announcing his tourism pledges in Jongno District the previous day, Oh criticized Jung in a meeting with reporters, calling him "an incompetent, immoral, and unprepared candidate."

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