The Seoul mayoral race came to a standstill in the wake of the collapse during the demolition of the Seosomun overpass. Jung Won-oh of the Democratic Party of Korea and Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party fully suspended public campaigning on Thursday, focusing instead on inspecting the accident site and visiting mortuaries to mourn the victims.
Both candidates canceled all scheduled public rallies on the seventh day of the official campaign period. Although the timing represents a critical window to win over voters just ahead of early voting on Saturday and Sunday, the candidates judged that continuing typical campaign activities such as loudspeaker rallies and choreographed performances would be inappropriate given the gravity of the consecutive fatal accidents in central Seoul. The decision also reflected caution against any backlash over politicizing the disaster.
Each candidate visited the mortuaries to pay tribute to the victims. Jung began his visits at the National Medical Center at 5 p.m., followed by Seoul St. Mary's Hospital and the funeral hall at CHA Bundang Medical Center. Jung's campaign extended deep condolences to the bereaved families and said it would adjust the candidate's schedule depending on the progress of the response to the accident.
Oh visited the mortuaries earlier, at around 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. His camp kept the schedule private and did not inform the media, out of consideration for the bereaved families. Earlier in the day, Oh revisited the Seosomun accident site at around 9:40 a.m. and urged Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Yoon-duck to ensure a swift response, before convening a campaign committee meeting to discuss countermeasures. The People Power Party's Seoul chapter also temporarily halted rallies and performances, maintaining a subdued tone.
Both candidates also expressed condolences via Facebook over a separate burial accident that occurred the same day in Suseo-dong. Jung said, "Treatment and accident response are the top priority, and the actual state of safety management must be verified."
Oh stressed, "My heart is heavy over the recent string of accidents, and I will carefully pursue institutional measures to secure on-site safety."
