Oh Sehun Appeals for Support Ahead of Early Voting: "Safety Is Seoul's Top Priority"

Press Conference Held at Campaign Office on the 28th

Stresses “No One Has Thought More Deeply About Seoul Than I Have”

Oh Sehoon, the People Power Party’s candidate for Seoul mayor, appealed for support on May 28, just one day before the early voting for the June 3 local elections, stressing that “safety” is the city’s top priority.

Oh Sehoon, the People Power Party's candidate for Seoul mayor, is greeting after speaking at a press conference held at the election campaign office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on May 28, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

At a press conference held at his campaign office in Jongno-gu, Seoul that afternoon, Oh said, “No one feels more desperately than I do how deeply Seoul citizens are worried about safety. All this time, I have always made safety the top priority of city administration.”

Oh suspended all campaign activities after a collapse accident occurred on May 26 at the demolition site of the Seosomun overpass in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, and has since focused on discussing countermeasures. Wearing a black suit at the press conference, he explained, “It was out of a sense of urgency to reduce accidents and alleviate citizens’ anxiety that we managed to achieve 100% installation of closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) at public construction sites across Seoul. Installing platform screen doors at every subway station was also driven by my conviction to make Seoul the safest city possible.” However, he added, “Yet, through this incident, I have come to realize again just how much more needs to be done.”

Oh emphasized, “What Seoul needs is a prepared mayor who can return to the site immediately after the election and start resolving issues right away—someone with leadership the public can trust. I will stay even more alert and attentive. I will be relentless in watching for even the smallest warning signs of danger on-site, thoroughly inspecting every gap and blind spot, pushing myself rigorously.”

Even after the press conference, Oh continued to focus on safety issues when speaking with reporters. Regarding the missing rebar incident at the GTX-A Samsung Station, he stated, “The fact that Hyundai Engineering & Construction reported the missing rebar to the Seoul city government and requested remedial measures may well have been due to the psychological pressure from knowing that all evidence is recorded on CCTV. This is the most effective and powerful method to firmly establish a culture of safety, more so than any safety policy before.”

Oh also appealed for support from Seoul citizens. He said, “Right now, ordinary citizens in Seoul are suffering from unstable and painful lives, faced with abnormal housing prices created by misguided real estate policies, a dried-up jeonse market, and endlessly rising rents. As for Seoul, I, Oh Sehoon, have thought about it more deeply and worked with a greater sense of responsibility than anyone else.”

He continued, “If even Oh Sehoon is defeated in Seoul, it would mean the complete erasure of the opposition’s ability to speak out on behalf of citizens. If we lose even Seoul, there will be no minimum foundation left to rebuild a rational and healthy conservative force in this country. Please protect this final bastion to maintain balance.”

On the evening of May 28, Oh was scheduled to attend a debate for Seoul mayoral candidates at SBS Prism Tower in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Referring to Jeong Won-oh, the Democratic Party’s candidate for Seoul mayor, who has refused to participate in one-on-one debates, Oh said, “I don’t think there’s ever been a candidate who refuses to attend a debate by labeling requests for clarification as ‘negative campaigning’ and using that as an excuse. By refusing to participate in the debate, he has exposed to the public that he is simply not prepared, and he should feel truly ashamed of this.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.