DPK’s Chong Won-o, PPP’s Oh Se-hoon to compete in Seoul mayoral race

Chong Won-o, left, the Seoul mayoral candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), shakes hands with incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party in Seoul, March 19. Yonhap

Seoul’s mayoral race scheduled for June 3 has taken shape, with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) selecting incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon as its candidate to compete with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) nominee, Chong Won-o.

Oh won the PPP’s primary on Saturday, beating Rep. Park Soo-min and former PPP Rep. Yun Hee-suk.

It was widely expected that Oh would be chosen as the conservative candidate in the crucial Seoul race, as he is one of the few heavyweights remaining in the conservative camp as its approval ratings plummet, driven by the party’s internal feud over whether to distance itself from impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

It is Oh’s fifth bid for the Seoul mayor position. Up to three consecutive terms are allowed for a local government head, and while Oh was elected mayor in 2006 and won a second term in 2010, he resigned following a row over a school lunch policy. He then won a by-election in 2021 for a third term and was reelected in 2022 for a fourth term. If reelected again, he will serve a record fifth term as a local government head.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a press conference after winning the People Power Party's (PPP) primary for the Seoul mayoral election at the headquarters of the PPP in Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap

Since being elected as the youngest-ever Seoul mayor at age 45, Oh has been recognized for achievements including helping the city rank sixth in the Global Power City Index.

During the primary race, Oh announced his slogan for Seoul — “A warmer, healthier Seoul Metropolitan City with a better quality of life” — and laid out five key visions for the city: shared growth, expanded homeownership, equal access to mobility, a healthier city and strengthened tourism under the concept of “tour-nomics,” a combination of “tourism” and “economics.”

Chong Won-o, Seoul mayoral candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and former head of Seoul's Seongdong District, speaks during a press conference held for the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club at the Press Center in central Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Oh’s rival, Chong, is a veteran local administrator who has served three consecutive terms as head of Seongdong District in Seoul since 2014. Chong emerged as a promising politician after President Lee Jae Myung publicly praised his administrative competence.

He consistently maintained high approval ratings during his tenure as Seongdong District chief, and was credited with helping transform the Seongsu-dong neighborhood into one of Seoul’s most sought-after areas. He is known for communicating directly with citizens online.

Chong has laid out several visions for Seoul, including halving housing costs for young people, expanding care centers for older adults and introducing a credit card-based transportation payment system for foreign tourists.

Exchanging verbal jabs

After winning the primary, Oh said that if the PPP lost the Seoul mayoral race, the “last safeguard” to stop the “recklessness” of the ruling party would disappear and Korea’s democracy would be put in danger.

He stressed the importance of the race to voters and pledged that, if elected, he would use the position to reform and rebuild the conservative bloc.

“The election will be a historic tipping point for determining the direction of the Republic of Korea: whether to allow the DPK to run wild or to rebuild the country through checks and balances,” Oh wrote on Facebook after the primary.

He also criticized his opponent. “Chong was selected as a mayoral candidate thanks to support from Lee Jae Myung. If Chong is elected as Seoul mayor, he will be serving Lee for the next four years,” Oh said during a press conference after the primary.

“His pledge for making Seoul one of the world’s top three cities is just rhetoric. It is hard to see any real determination or concrete measures to achieve that goal in Chong’s governing philosophy.”

Meanwhile, Chong welcomed Oh’s candidacy by saying, “I hope this election can become a public space where candidates can compete based on ability for people’s livelihoods and the future of Seoul. I expect the race to be a fair and honorable contest that reflects the dignity of Seoul citizens.”

However, he has also openly criticized Oh. “Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon started various projects, but citizens don’t remember much of what he has done for the city,” Chong said in a radio interview on April 13.

Park Kyung-mi, a spokesperson for Chong, released a statement Saturday to denounce the speech Oh made after the primary. “It is not a vision for Seoul citizens, but seems to be an announcement for the party leadership and presidency … Oh should not use the Seoul mayoralty as a stepping stone for those positions.”

Seoul City Hall / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Polling outlook

Despite Oh’s advantage as the incumbent mayor, recent polls suggested that Chong led Oh by more than 10 percentage points, and the ruling DPK is ahead in overall approval ratings.

In a poll conducted by Metavoice and Global Research for JTBC of 804 adults in Seoul from April 11 to 12, 50 percent of respondents supported Chong, while just 34 percent said they supported Oh.

In another poll conducted by Research & Research and commissioned by the Dong-A Ilbo, carried out on March 30 and 31 among 802 eligible voters, Chong led Oh with 42.6 percent compared to 28 percent.

A survey conducted by Gallup Korea of 1,000 adults from Tuesday to Thursday showed that the approval rating for the DPK stood at 48 percent, maintaining its highest level since the current administration took office, while the approval rating for the PPP fell 1 percentage point from the previous week to 19 percent.

Further details of the surveys are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.