Jung Won-oh, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, took direct aim at former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, who have surfaced in the June 3 local elections, saying they were "the forces that fueled the Korea discount" and that "Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate who has summoned them back, is no different."
"As the election turns unfavorable, the People Power Party is once again summoning the past," Jung said at a press conference held in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Sunday. "They put the economy first, but people's livelihoods became tougher, and they put security first, but security and peace were shaken. We cannot once again entrust local government — and Seoul, the face of the Republic of Korea — to the forces of the past."
Jung emphasized that Oh is no different from them. "Over the past 10 years, housing worries have only grown, and commuting remains inconvenient," he said. "Even in the face of the GTX Samsung Station rebar omission incident and the Seosomun overpass collapse, no one in the Seoul Metropolitan Government has shown a sense of responsibility." He added that "(Oh's) insensitivity to safety is making Seoul anxious."
Former President Lee was set to visit Seongdong-gu, Jung's home turf, on the same day to support Oh's campaign. It marks his return to the campaign trail roughly two weeks after walking through Cheonggyecheon Plaza with Oh on May 15. However, as Oh is continuing his stumping across Seoul, the two are not expected to meet directly, sources said.
Jung also stressed that unnecessary political strife would grow if Oh is elected. "Oh has gone so far as to invoke the Cabinet meeting, saying he will hold back a government that does its job well," he said. "The Seoul mayor's seat is not there to fight the central government. It is a position meant to address the lives of Seoul citizens together with the government."
"Yet Oh Se-hoon skipped 54 out of 56 Cabinet meetings since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration," Jung continued. "After giving up the chance to speak about the lives of Seoul citizens himself, is he now going to use the Cabinet meeting as a stage for political strife?"
On the previous day's incident, in which Woo Hyung-chan, the Democratic Party's candidate for Yangcheon-gu district chief, pressured a baby to "give a kiss" at a campaign event, Jung said, "I feel a deep sense of responsibility in ensuring this does not happen again." Woo also issued an apology on his blog the previous day. "There is no excuse for my careless and thoughtless words and actions at the campaign event in Yangcheon-gu's Paris Park, where I was with candidate Jung," Woo wrote.
