The Seoul chapter of the Democratic Party of Korea will launch a permanent monitoring body to conduct standing reviews of Seoul's city administration. The move aims to build a thorough verification system, as some problems in the city administration, such as the Hangang Bus, were pointed out during the June 3 local elections.
According to political circles Monday, the Democratic Party's Seoul chapter recently held a steering committee meeting and reached a consensus to establish a "Seoul City Administration Monitoring Group" (tentative name) under the Seoul chapter.
The plan changes the existing approach, in which the Seoul Metropolitan Council reviewed city administration on its own, shifting to a system in which the Seoul chapter and the council cooperate on a standing basis to closely scrutinize city administration. To this end, the Democratic Party's Seoul chapter is reportedly planning to meet with the Seoul Metropolitan Council's floor leadership sometime next week to begin the formal launch process.
Political observers assessed that the Democratic Party is expanding its check-and-balance system, having confirmed the resilience of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in the June 3 local elections. "Having tasted defeat in Seoul, where a Democratic Party victory had been forecast, the party appears to be regrouping with grim determination," a political source said.
