The two Seoul mayoral candidates traded sharp attacks Monday, with the Democratic Party's Jeong Won-oh linking his rival to disgraced former presidents and People Power Party's Oh Se-hoon dismissing Jeong as unprepared and unfit for the job.

Jeong Won-oh, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor. [Provided by the Jeong Won-oh campaign]
Jeong Won-oh, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor. [Provided by the Jeong Won-oh campaign]

Jeong Won-oh, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, on Monday branded former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye — who have taken prominent roles in the campaign — as "forces of the past," and said People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon was no different. Oh shot back, calling Jeong "unqualified."

Speaking at a press conference at Seoul Station titled "An Appeal to the Citizens of Seoul," Jeong said the People Power Party was "summoning the past again now that the election is turning against them." He said the shadows of former presidents Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk Yeol — all of whom had faced public judgment — were re-emerging at the forefront of the campaign. "Everyone knows they are the forces that deepened the Korea discount," he said. "South Korea's national standing was shaken, markets lost confidence, and the country's competitiveness weakened."

Jeong also turned his fire directly on Oh, saying "the candidate who brought them back is no different." He said housing anxieties had grown over the past decade, commutes remained as difficult as ever, household finances had tightened and public safety in Seoul had deteriorated. On Oh's pledge to deliver a strong public message at Cabinet meetings, Jeong noted that Oh had skipped 54 of 56 Cabinet meetings since the Lee Jae Myung administration took office. "Having voluntarily given up every chance to speak on behalf of Seoul residents, is he now proposing to use Cabinet meetings as a stage for political battles?" he asked.

Oh, speaking to reporters near Wolgok Station in Seongbuk-gu, dismissed Jeong's attacks. "This is no time for wordplay about who represents the past and who represents the future," he said. "Seoul residents will not entrust this city to a candidate who is unqualified and underprepared." Oh said Jeong's performance over the roughly one month of campaigning had fallen well short of what citizens expected. He added that even Democratic Party supporters who had wanted to vote for Jeong were likely having second thoughts after watching him repeatedly dodge debates. "I think they may have had their pride and sense of confidence wounded by watching their own party's candidate," he said.

On the former presidents' prominent campaign role, Oh said the division of responsibilities was "being carried out very strategically and well," and suggested Jeong's criticism reflected anxiety over fluctuating approval ratings. Oh also reaffirmed his position that the decline in jeonse and monthly rent supply and the endless rise in prices were the direct result of flawed policies under the Lee Jae Myung administration. "I want to make it absolutely clear, as I have before, that I will work to correct this at the very first Cabinet meeting," he said.


cook@heraldcorp.com