Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, did not take part in the People Power Party's additional recruitment of candidates for Seoul mayor, which was open until 6 p.m. on the 12th.
About 20 minutes before the deadline, around 5:40 p.m. that day, after finishing the "2026 Hi Seoul business support program briefing" held at The Plaza Hotel in Jung District, Seoul, the mayor told reporters, "I regret to say that I cannot register for the People Power Party nomination today."
The mayor also said that even after the People Power Party leadership adopted a resolution on "severing ties with Yoon Suk-yeol," "no signs have yet been found that it is moving into the implementation phase."
The mayor further explained that at lunch that day, he met with floor leader Song Eon-seog and called for the early launch of the innovation election committee. He added, "I said I want to participate in the election," and "I conveyed my earnest view that there needs to be at least some sign of change to be able to participate."
He continued, "(The floor leader) said, in effect, to register first and then discuss it, but I have a sense of crisis that doing so could greatly delay or make it difficult to drive change from leader Jang Dong-hyeok."
The mayor stressed that it is not true he will not run. "I have often seen some people speculate, using this as a pretext, that I intend to sit out this election," he said. "I have made my position clear. I will take part in the election." On the possibility of running as an independent, he said, "That will absolutely not happen."
Earlier, after the mayor and South Chungcheong Province Gov. Kim Tae-heum did not apply for nomination, the People Power Party nomination committee decided to accept additional applications until 6 p.m. that day. Gov. Kim applied for the nomination.