The People Power Party will again accept applications for nomination for Seoul mayor in the June 3 local elections. Attention is on whether Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has delayed applying while calling for an innovation election committee, will file.
The People Power Party's nomination management committee announced on the 16th that it will resume the nomination process for Seoul mayor. The committee posted a notice that it will accept candidate applications on the 17th and conduct interview screenings on the 20th. This schedule marks the third call for candidates, prompted by Mayor Oh not applying for nomination while demanding that party leaders justify the party line, among other things.
Committee chair Lee held a press conference at party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the day and, regarding Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has not yet applied for nomination with the party, said, "He is the incumbent mayor and a candidate with competitiveness in the Seoul mayoral race," adding, "We conveyed our hope that he will definitely take part during this additional application period."
The committee's latest decision appears to stem from its failure to find a competitive contender comparable to the incumbent, Mayor Oh. Lawmakers Na Kyung-won, Ahn Cheol-soo and Shin Dong-wook, who had been floated as potential in-party candidates, still lean toward not running. It also seems to reflect the leadership's view that the party must not slide further into internal strife, after committee chair Lee abruptly resigned on the 13th and then declared a return to duty the previous day.
It remains unclear whether Mayor Oh will actually register as a candidate. The People Power Party leadership has effectively rejected his conditions for registration, including the launch of an innovation election committee and personnel reforms for figures who echoed "Yoon again."
Chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon met reporters at the National Assembly on the morning and, when asked whether the party is looking for candidates other than Mayor Oh, said, "Mayor Oh remains a strong Seoul mayoral candidate and an important asset to the party," but added, "However, we cannot agree to, nor accept, an election committee structure in which current party leader Jang Dong-hyeok steps back to the second line."
Inside the party, there is also detectable backlash to the committee's unusual move to issue a "third call" for candidates. In particular, unlike the Seoul mayor call, the committee declared the first cutoff among incumbents by targeting North Chungcheong Gov. Kim Young-hwan, fueling a controversy over "procedural legitimacy." Some within the party are also calling to recruit a third figure and reset the board.
A political source said, "It violates fairness for the leadership or the nomination committee to proceed with the nomination process with a specific person in mind," adding, "If the election is difficult anyway, a head-on match with a fresh face could be the better choice."
There is also talk that Mayor Oh may ultimately skip the local elections and head straight into an August bid for party leadership. That is because, with the gap against the Democratic Party already large in Seoul, running could bring only political losses. Another People Power Party official said, "Within the party, interest in the leadership race already outweighs the local elections," adding, "Both party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and Mayor Oh are likely to calculate with a leadership contest as their goal."