Democratic Party candidate Jung Won-oh and People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon, locked in a tight race within the margin of error in the Seoul mayoral election, clashed over real estate, the campaign's central issue, during a televised debate hosted by the National Election Commission. Jung criticized housing supply shortfalls during Oh's tenure as mayor, while Oh countered that he had been resolving problems that originated under former Mayor Park Won-soon through measures such as the Rapid Integrated Planning initiative. The two candidates also exchanged blows over safety concerns, including the recent rebar omission at Samseong Station on the Great Train Express (GTX)-A line.
Jung opened the offensive by arguing that Oh had failed to deliver on the housing supply pledges he made during his tenure as mayor. "When Oh ran in the 2021 local election, he promised to supply 360,000 units within five years, and after taking office, he said he would supply 80,000 housing units annually," Jung said. "According to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport statistics, only 39,000 units were supplied based on construction starts from 2022 to 2024." He continued, "Why are you blaming your predecessor and the government when you failed to keep your own promises? Many people view the current housing shortage as being caused by candidate Oh Se-hoon."
Oh countered, "Under former Mayor (Park Won-soon), 389 redevelopment and reconstruction zones were lifted. To put it bluntly, he plowed everything under, sprayed herbicide, and left, and we are now restoring it to its original state."
Jung then pressed Oh, asking, "If Mayor Oh had only kept the promises he made, there would be no housing problem. Why blame your predecessor and the government?" He added, "For housing supply, diverse forms of supply must be carried out. Candidate Oh paid no attention at all to public redevelopment, urban public-complex development projects, and remodeling projects."
Oh again rebutted, "It's not that we didn't support remodeling projects — remodeling shrank because reconstruction was so popular."
In response, Oh counterattacked over the issue of an "agissi gutdang" (shaman shrine) donation contribution involving Jung. The allegation is that during Jung's tenure as Seongdong District chief, in the course of pushing the Haengdang Zone 7 redevelopment project, he had agreed to receive ownership of a newly constructed 4.8 billion won shrine building as a donation contribution, but after the shrine was completed, he demanded the contribution be made in cash, causing damage to the redevelopment cooperative.
Regarding this, Jung responded, "There are parts that differ from the facts," but added, "I deeply apologize for the delay."
The two candidates also clashed over the merits and demerits of the Seongsu-dong development.
Oh first claimed that the development project on the Sampyo Remicon site had been blocked by then-Mayor Park Won-soon of the Democratic Party. "Hyundai wanted to build its headquarters at the Sampyo Remicon site as a 110-story tower," Oh said. "We were proceeding by upgrading a Class 1 residential zone to a commercial zone, but it fell apart when Mayor Park Won-soon took office." He added, "If Hyundai had moved in, Seongsu-dong would have been developed on a much larger scale."
Jung rebutted, "It was in February 2014 that Hyundai decided not to come to the Sampyo site. At that time, I was not the district chief — it was during the previous district chief's term."
Oh shot back, "Then why didn't you go to Mayor Park Won-soon afterward and ask him to reconsider?" He added pointedly, "When candidate Jung published his book, he didn't acknowledge that the Seongsu-dong development wasn't done alone and that there was help from the Seoul city government."
Jung countered, "I stated in the preface that the development of Seongsu-dong is not my personal achievement, nor was it created by any specific individual."
The two candidates also sparred over the GTX-A rebar omission incident.
Asked about reports that the Seoul city government had delayed reporting the rebar omission to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for five months, Oh said, "I never received any report and only learned about it afterward through the news," shifting the blame by saying, "Out of the blue, when the election campaign turned unfavorable, the Democratic Party took the lead in raising the issue, and that is what brought us to today."
He went on, "In reality, this was not an accident — the construction company reported the truth in the middle of construction. I believe the reason (the contractor) Hyundai Engineering & Construction reported it is because I made closed-circuit television (CCTV) mandatory."
He continued, "In any case, reinforcement work is possible. The Korea Rail Network Authority and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recognized through reinforcement work that it is safe, and after fully grasping the facts at the end of April, they conducted about 90 test runs. They made the judgment on the premise that it is safe to operate."
Finally, the two candidates appealed for support and laid out their aspirations. Oh in particular pleaded, "Please at least keep Seoul as the minimum foothold to check the arrogance and unilateral rule of the Lee Jae-myung administration."
Jung emphasized, "Even when I worked as a district chief, I created and implemented policies by resolving residents' complaints. Going forward, I will continue to listen to citizens' voices, meet their eyes, and firmly and comfortably support their lives."
Oh stressed his experience. "Over the next four years, Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, must compete with the world," he said. "Prepared competence and proven experience are absolutely essential."
Oh also emphasized, "This Seoul mayoral election is a truly important opportunity to set the country's balance right. I appeal to you to choose Oh Se-hoon with the same spirit as leaving a single ripe persimmon on the tree as food for the magpies in the dead of winter."
