Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor-elect who pulled off an overnight comeback to win his fifth term, said his victory was "not a personal triumph for Oh Se-hoon, but a victory for young people who dream of a hopeful future."
"This is a victory for ordinary, hardworking citizens — working-class people who hope for an end to the hellish housing rental crisis, dual-income couples searching for a safe place to leave their children, and residents who have waited for hope in old homes while awaiting reconstruction," Oh said on the 4th.
Oh particularly emphasized, "Citizens have firmly established the great democratic principle of checks and balances." He added, "You have kept Seoul as the last safeguard of democracy so that the Republic of Korea does not tilt entirely to one side."
"Citizens have clearly shown that no power can reign above the law and no regime can stand above the people," he continued. "I offer my deep respect and gratitude to the citizens who protected the balance of democracy in the name of Seoul."
Oh also addressed the shortage of ballot papers that occurred at some polling stations on election day. "I express deep regret over the situation in which citizens' right to vote — the most basic and sacred right of democracy — was infringed upon," he said. "Just because citizens created a great victory does not mean this serious flaw can be buried as if nothing happened."
He stressed, "We must thoroughly investigate what went wrong, and commensurate, serious accountability and fundamental improvements must follow." He promised, "I will never let down the earnest hearts of the citizens who endured the chaos on the ground and protected democracy."
Oh also explained, "I believe your choice to select me again is less an encouragement for me personally than an evaluation of the policies and direction that are changing Seoul."
"I will surely repay you with bigger change and better results than the past five years," he said, adding, "I will return to city administration immediately and resolve the problems weighing on citizens' lives one by one."
