Jang Dong-hyeok and Oh Se-hoon in a Standoff Over 'Innovation Election Committee'

Tensions continue between People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok and Oh Se-hoon, mayor of Seoul, over the early launch of an "Innovation Election Committee." Because such a move would effectively mean Jang stepping back from the front line of party leadership, the party leadership has expressed opposition. The party’s Candidate Nomination Committee also decided to reopen applications for the Seoul mayoral nomination, after its chair Lee Jung-hyun reversed his voluntary resignation and returned on the 15th while urging Oh Se-hoon to enter the primary. However, Oh Se-hoon’s camp maintains its existing stance, saying, "Nothing has changed yet."
The Candidate Nomination Committee announced that it would accept additional applications for the Seoul mayoral nomination on this day. The committee plans to take extra applications on the 17th and conduct interviews on the 18th. This is the second time it has reopened applications for the Seoul mayoral nomination.
The committee is actively courting Oh Se-hoon to run. In a press release announcing the additional application period for the Seoul mayoral nomination, it mentioned Oh by name and urged him to enter the race. The committee stated, "Incumbent mayor Oh Se-hoon is a valuable asset to our party and an important leader who has driven Seoul’s development," adding, "The committee notes that we highly value his achievements and role to date, and we hope he will take part in this nomination process."
The party leadership, however, remains passive about follow-up measures to the "anti-Yoon resolution" demanded by Oh. Chief spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon told reporters at the National Assembly, "Discussions on the election committee have been under way for some time, and of course the direction is innovation," and added, "It is hard to see Mayor Oh’s Innovation Election Committee as something particularly new, and since we are already preparing, we will make an announcement later." The leadership has also made clear that it cannot accept an early launch of an Innovation Election Committee if it effectively means Jang stepping back from the front line.
Even so, Oh is said to be strongly determined to force a change in the leadership’s course. He has previously urged Jang to launch the Innovation Election Committee early and to carry out a personnel shake-up targeting figures who defended former president Yoon Suk Yeol. Since the party leadership has not taken any follow-up action on the anti-Yoon resolution, Oh appears set to maintain his boycott by refusing to file for the nomination. A close aide to Oh said, "Given that nothing has changed at this point, it is hard to say we view the additional application period positively," but added, "Nothing has been decided yet." They intend to watch the message that comes out of the Supreme Council meeting of the party scheduled for the 16th.
As Oh’s entry into the Seoul mayoral primary is delayed, concerns are growing over a possible crushing defeat in the local elections. Because heads of metropolitan local governments are seen as the main figures in local elections, many argue that Oh must step forward so that other candidates can gain momentum. Former lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook, who has declared her candidacy for Seoul mayor, warned, "The longer Mayor Oh delays registering as a candidate and the more the primary is pushed back, the weaker our vetting process becomes, and the more our competitiveness in the general election will be eroded."