By Kim Rahn
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is betting big on the free school lunch referendum. However, with his political career at stake, Oh faces an uphill battle in his crusade against what he labels welfare populism.
On Monday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government quietly announced the residents’ referendum will take place on Aug. 24.
Oh, who first proposed the vote to stop a full-scale free school meal program, did not make the announcement as he had to visit the rain-damaged villages to comfort residents there.
For the lawyer-turned-mayor, last week’s downpour was horror movie brought to life. It couldn’t have been a worse time _ causing more criticism over the free school lunch vote as heavy rains devastated Gangnam, his main stronghold.
Representing the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), Oh has locked horns with the Seoul Metropolitan Council dominated by the opposition Democratic Party (DP) members over the free meal program and other key metropolitan policies.
He has pushed ahead with the referendum despite little support from his GNP and a dozen of lawsuits and petitions filed involving the vote.
The torrential rain last week killed people and inundated property in the wealthy neighborhoods in Gangnam, southern Seoul where the population of conservative residents in favor of Oh is relatively large.
Even though the precipitation was record-high, people criticized Seoul City for lacking proper flood control management despite yearly occurrences of such weather.
Opposition parties and progressive civic groups said the damage was substantial because the second-term mayor spent much of the city’s budget in projects to decorate the city instead of preserving it. “Oh has spent 213 billion won in the ‘Design Seoul’ project, which he said will generate profits for the city. But 26 among the 30 ‘design streets’ were covered with granitic roadblocks, exacerbating the flooding,” city council Chairman Heo Kwang-tai said.
While recovery works were underway, the city government officially announced the referendum Monday, a delay from the original plan of last Thursday due to the rain.
Opponents denounced him for pushing ahead with the poll in a time of crisis. Heo urged Oh to use the 18.2 billion won, the cost for holding the referendum, for flood damage recovery efforts instead.
Even if the vote will be held as scheduled, it is unclear whether citizens will vote in favor of Oh’s policy. It also remains to be seen whether more than one third of eligible voters, the minimum number required to make the vote valid, will even cast their ballots.
Civic groups and opposition parties claim he orchestrated this to get a firm foothold as a presidential candidate.
At the same time, a number of legal hurdles await.
Kwak No-hyun, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said Monday that he will ask the Constitutional Court to review whether the vote infringes on his authority, insisting the school lunch program is under his jurisdiction.
A coalition of civic groups filed another suit to demand the court stop the poll process, which it claims was unlawful. If the court accepts either Kwak’s or the coalition’s suit before the vote day on Aug. 24, the referendum may be annulled.
The GNP has distanced itself from Oh, as his “fight against populist welfare policy” could damage the party’s image ahead of two elections next year.
Unlike its usual stance, the conservative party has come up with welfare policies to woo voters. Only a few GNP lawmakers support Oh, while the majority remains silent or even in opposition.
With the referendum approaching, the party recently decided to support him, reluctantly. But some members still resist, because if the vote result is against Oh, it will deal a blow to the party as well. Even if the result is for Oh, the GNP can be branded “the party opposing the free school meal.”
Beyond the party, the vote will also affect Oh’s career as an individual politician. He hinted at keeping the mayoral post even if the result is against him, saying the referendum is about a policy, not a political issue. Disagreeing citizens may demand he step down if the vote is annulled or if the result is against the mayor.
Analysts said the three affluent southern districts ― Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa ― will be influential in deciding the political fate of Oh as was the case in June 2 local elections last year. Oh won the mayoral elections by a narrow margin on the back of strong support from the three districts.