Oh Se-hoon on 'Yoon's Detention Cancellation': "A Truly Desirable Decision"

On June 7, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon described the court's decision to cancel the detention of President Yoon Seok-yeol as "a truly desirable decision."

After attending a local decentralization constitutional amendment forum hosted by the Korea Council of Governors at the National Assembly that afternoon, Mayor Oh told reporters this.

He said, "From now on, the trial will proceed in earnest, and there is the status and national dignity of the Republic of Korea as viewed from abroad," adding, "As I have long argued, there is no concern about evidence destruction or flight risk, so it is naturally desirable and proper for the trial to be conducted without detention."

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Regarding former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon's remark that the 'Cross-Party National Constitutional Amendment Coalition' proposed by Mayor Oh "does not seem to be a consultative body that the Seoul mayor can lead," Oh responded, "There are no separate tasks for the mayor, candidates, or the National Assembly," and said, "I believe that anyone in the Republic of Korea has the duty and responsibility to propose constitutional amendments and express opinions on efforts to realize them."

Mayor Oh also commented on Article 84 of the constitution, which was announced by Yoo Jeong-bok, chairman of the Council of Governors, and opposed by opposition party-affiliated local leaders. This article stipulates that criminal cases occurring before a president's term are not suspended after election.

Referring to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is facing multiple trials, Mayor Oh said, "It is politically unreasonable and against common sense for someone in such a situation to run for president," emphasizing, "If the constitution includes a provision recognizing immunity from prosecution under criminal law limited to acts committed during the presidential term, it could prevent national division arising from constitutional interpretation."

Earlier at the forum's congratulatory speech, Mayor Oh also criticized Lee. He said, "Only Lee Jae-myung has not joined the constitutional amendment movement," and added, "There are many political seniors and juniors here regardless of party, and if the entire nation can unite to launch a national constitutional amendment coalition, wouldn't that be considerable pressure?"

Regarding the constitutional amendment to shorten the presidential term, Mayor Oh said, "If an early presidential election occurs, it will be because of our party's responsibility," and reiterated, "At least those running as our party's presidential candidates should propose minimizing public inconvenience and national resource waste by aligning the timing of the general election and presidential election three years later."

He continued, "As the person who first made that proposal, I naturally still hold that view, and if an early presidential election is held, I am confident this will emerge as an issue."

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