Oh Se-hoon Criticizes Land Minister's Excessive Remarks on GTX, Deplores Administrative Election Intervention

Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, commented on Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoon-deok's statement that the Seoul Metropolitan Government had fulfilled its reporting obligations regarding the omission of rebar at Samsung Station on the GTX-A (Great Train Express A) line, calling it a "false report." Oh remarked, "Given Minister Kim's usual work style and character, his remarks were truly excessive."

After announcing his low birthrate policy pledges at First Smile Postnatal Care Center in Gangdong-gu, Seoul on the same day, Oh met with reporters and said, "I lament the reality that, due to the forced and unreasonable claims made by the Democratic Party of Korea and Jung Won-oh's campaign, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been mobilized for an election using government authority," adding, "Since Hyundai Engineering & Construction voluntarily reported the issue, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has faithfully fulfilled its originally required role and follow-up measures without any lapse."

On the 20th, Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, is listening to questions at the Kwanhun Debate held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

He continued, "Candidate Jung rushed to the site without any prior confirmation and raised suspicions of a cover-up. When it was revealed that there was no cover-up, he began raising various logically inconsistent issues, which led us to this point," adding, "Such government intervention in the election must be thoroughly investigated after the election is over."

Regarding the ban on Starbucks imposed within Candidate Jung's campaign, Oh stated, "Exploiting painful history or undermining its historical significance should be strictly refrained from and, depending on the circumstances, deserves criticism." He further noted, "Using painful history for election purposes can also damage its historical meaning in other ways."

On Jung's policy pledges, Oh said, "Elections are about competing with policy pledges, and recognizing and benchmarking good policies is not a bad thing." However, he pointed out, "If a candidate adopts a policy pledge that was first proposed by another, they should at least explain the circumstances and show proper etiquette."

He further insisted, "In the past, a mayor from his own party (the late former Mayor Park Won-soon) implemented policies that negatively affected the housing market. If they are now proposing pledges that are completely the opposite, like mine, they should provide an explanation."

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