With the June 3 local elections ahead, support ratings for Chong Won-o, the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul mayoral candidate, and Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate, are narrowing. As the campaign heats up, both sides are ramping up their mudslinging.
Park Kyung-mi, Spokesperson for Chong Won-o's camp, on the 6th issued a commentary titled, "Oh Se-hoon, once 'Yongsan's poodle,' are you barking at your own reflection in the mirror?" It disparaged Oh as "Yongsan's poodle."
Park said, "When (Oh) mocks his opponent as 'the president's poodle,' it sounds like a searing 'self-confession,'" adding, "Having styled oneself as the submissive partner of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and prioritized the regime's security over citizens' safety, how dare that person call anyone a poodle?"
She continued, "Chong Won-o is, at this very moment, focused solely on the essence of 'people's livelihood.' The get-things-done candidate Chong Won-o will work in lockstep with a get-things-done president to map out Seoul's future," adding, "Do not try to cover up the past of being a sunflower to power, watching only the regime's mood, with sophistry."
Huh Jun-seok, Spokesperson for Oh's camp, countered with a commentary titled, "Is Chong Won-o trying to become an 'appointed government-installed mayor' who blindly obeys President Lee Jae-myung?"
Huh said, "Given Chong Won-o's 'blind obedience to Lee Jae-myung,' it's confusing whether this Seoul mayoral race is for an elected mayor or to handpick an 'appointed government-installed mayor,'" adding, "Is 'Myung-pick' Chong Won-o running in this election to become an appointed government-installed mayor?"
Huh said, "Even if, going forward, President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party abuse executive and legislative powers to wreck the lives of Seoul citizens, will Chong Won-o go beyond being a 'yes-man' and submit like 'thank you sir man'?" adding, "At Cabinet meetings, the Seoul mayor must, when necessary for Seoul and its citizens, be willing to argue—even to the point of reddening faces with the president."
A poll of 800 Seoul voters conducted by SBS through the pollster Ipsos via wireless phone interviews on the 1st to 3rd found Chong at 41% and Oh at 34%. The survey was conducted via wireless phone interviews, the response rate was 10.7%, and the margin of error was ±3.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Earlier, in a wireless automated response (ARS) survey conducted by CBS through the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) on the 22nd to 23rd of last month, the gap between Chong (45.6%) and Oh (35.4%) was 10.2 percentage points. The double-digit gap in support narrowed to single digits. That survey had a response rate of 5.1% and a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For details on both polls, refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.