Jeong Won-oh and Oh Se-hoon wage last-minute 'all-out war'... Fierce attacks calling each other 'scarecrows' [June 3 Local Elections]

Yonhap News People Power Party Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon (center) is greeting commuters near Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul on the 1st. Yonhap News The June Seoul mayoral election has entered its final stages, with two days remaining until the main vote. President Lee Jae-myung has emerged as a last-minute key issue.Having voluntarily given up the opportunity to speak about the lives of Seoul citizens, is he now trying to use Cabinet meetings as a stage for political strife?" In particular, in response to criticism comparing him to a scarecrow, he countered by saying, "Candidate Oh is admitting that he himself was a scarecrow during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration," while highlighting that he had offered harsh criticism even to former Mayor Park Won-soon, a member of the same party, during his time as the Seongdong District Mayor. Candidate Jeong argued that cooperation with the central government is essential to successfully manage Seoul's city administration.
He emphasized, "The Mayor of Seoul must attend Cabinet meetings and discuss pending issues with the government within the framework of the Central-Local Cooperation Council and the Central Safety Management System. Seoul's core challenges—ranging from housing and transportation to safety and public livelihoods—cannot be resolved without cooperation with the government.
" He added, "The Mayor of Seoul is a partner in national governance responsible for the lives of Seoul citizens. They must not be a mere spectator or an obstacle.
" He cited the housing issue as a priority matter for cooperation with the government. Candidate Jeong stated, "I will cooperate with the government to quickly resolve housing issues starting from my status as president-elect," adding, "I will supply 87,000 housing units by 2027 in cooperation with the government, including quickly resolving the cover park issue, a pending reconstruction and redevelopment concern spanning Banpo, Apgujeong, and Seongsu in the Gangnam area.
" Furthermore, citing the incident involving missing rebar on the GTX-A line at Samseong Station and the collapse of the Seosomun overpass, he raised the issue of holding Candidate Oh accountable, stating, "The core of the 'Seoul discount' is the administration of Mayor Oh Se-hoon, characterized by a lack of safety awareness, incompetence, and irresponsibility. " In a previous interview with this newspaper, Candidate Jeong also stated that his first remarks at a Cabinet meeting after his election would be to "request the transparent sharing of GTX-A inspection results and the status of reinforcement work.
" He added, "I will not be a mayor who politicizes safety to evade responsibility or is out of step with the central government, but rather a mayor who works in tandem with the government for the safety of citizens. " ■ Oh Se-hoon: "Jeong Won-oh will become a quasi-appointed mayor, a subordinate to Lee.
" Following a press conference the previous day, Candidate Oh emphasized the need to keep the Lee Jae-myung administration in check while touring the country today. He argued that with the People Power Party holding a minority of seats and the local election landscape tilted in one direction, the Seoul mayoralty is the last bastion to check the ruling power.
At the same time, he launched an offensive, claiming that Candidate Jeong would become President Lee's "puppet. " Before heading out for a campaign rally in Seongbuk-gu, Candidate Oh met with reporters and pointed out, "Candidate Jeong is bound to become a quasi-appointed puppet mayor who is extremely submissive to the President and obsessed with aligning with his agenda.
" He added, "The cause of the Lee Jae-myung administration's real estate disaster is the rental crisis resulting from the excessive imposition of actual residency, loan restrictions, and the warning of heavy taxation, yet Candidate Jeong has never once clearly stated his position on this matter. " At a press conference the previous day as well, Candidate Oh mentioned real estate issues such as the rental crisis and presented alternative real estate policies that he plans to propose at Cabinet meetings presided over by President Lee if elected Mayor of Seoul.
The measures to revitalize redevelopment and reconstruction include expanding relocation loans, lifting restrictions on the transfer of association membership status, relaxing floor area ratios applicable to public maintenance projects, easing regulations on corporate-type private rental housing, reducing the tax burden on providers of small and medium-sized rental housing in the city center, and adjusting property taxes. In an earlier interview with the Financial News, when asked about his remarks at his first Cabinet meeting after being elected, Candidate Oh stated, "First of all, I will say that 'the lives of Seoul citizens must not be treated as experimental subjects.
'" He added, "If taxes, loans, and regulations are repeatedly shaken up in the short term as they are now, the greatest damage will ultimately fall on citizens and ordinary people. Real estate policies must be completely re-examined.
"
Yonhap News People Power Party Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon (center) is greeting commuters near Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul on the 1st. Yonhap News The June Seoul mayoral election has entered its final stages, with two days remaining until the main vote. President Lee Jae-myung has emerged as a last-minute key issue.
Yonhap News People Power Party Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon (center) is greeting commuters near Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul on the 1st. Yonhap News The June Seoul mayoral election has entered its final stages, with two days remaining until the main vote. President Lee Jae-myung has emerged as a last-minute key issue.
Yonhap News People Power Party Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon (center) is greeting commuters near Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul on the 1st. Yonhap News The June Seoul mayoral election has entered its final stages, with two days remaining until the main vote. President Lee Jae-myung has emerged as a last-minute key issue.
ronia@fnnews.com Lee Seol-young Kim Yun-ho Reporter