Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on the 23rd said, "The plaza could revert to a battlefield of conflict where sharp slogans and flags whip 365 days a year," adding, "We will protect a plaza that matches citizens' expectations and dignity to the very end."
Oh posted a message on social media (SNS) titled "We cannot let the plaza be taken away again," saying this.
Oh said, "The season of the Seoul Outdoor Library has returned. Exactly four years ago on this day, to mark 'World Book Day,' we opened the first outdoor library and returned Seoul Plaza to citizens," adding, "The following year, under the name 'Gwanghwamun Book Yard,' we opened a second outdoor library in Gwanghwamun Plaza."
He added, "As last year's result showing it ranked No. 1 among policies loved by Seoul citizens indicates, the outdoor library has now become Seoul's distinctive brand and a symbol that clearly establishes who owns the plaza."
Oh also said, "For a plaza for citizens, we have constantly sown the seeds of innovation. The outdoor library is a change born from the shift in thinking that a place where you read books is itself a library," adding, "The trees and flowers set up throughout Seoul Plaza added emotional comfort, and the harmony of green grass and brown wood brought improvements even to the walking environment. Thanks to that, lawn damage has noticeably decreased. Gwanghwamun Plaza has become a vast green space in the city that combines not only forest and shade, but also waterways and fountains."
He continued, "The recreational sports program 'Exercising at Seoul Plaza' became the first step for citizens unfamiliar with exercise," adding, "Spring Festa and Winter Festa, which colored Seoul's daily life into a global festival, would not have even been possible to start without the plaza."
Oh said, "But now, we are again at risk of losing the plaza," adding, "From hard-line labor unions that have become yet another vested interest, to extreme groups calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, to some political parties that set up tents at every opportunity and pour out factional logic, the plaza could, if we are not careful, revert to a battlefield of conflict where sharp slogans and flags whip 365 days a year."
He added, "I am deeply concerned that it may become a plaza that must be avoided, not a plaza where families stroll on a leisurely weekend afternoon."
Oh also said, "If someone becomes the Seoul mayor by relying on someone's power or someone's halo, the plaza will be taken as collateral for political liabilities," adding, "To complete the 'special city of quality of life,' we will protect to the end a plaza that matches citizens' expectations and dignity. There will never again be a time when the plaza is taken away."