Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said of calls for a rerun election over the shortage of ballot papers in the June 3 local elections that "the gap between the candidates is more than about 60,000 votes, so in reality it would be structurally difficult to affect the result." Oh defeated Democratic Party of Korea candidate Chong Won-o by 60,259 votes (1.15 percentage points).
That morning, Oh appeared on the JoongAng Ilbo YouTube channel "Hwang Hyun-hee's Uncomfortable Yeouido" and, when asked about his stance on a rerun election, stated accordingly.
Oh said, "Given the stature and gravity of the Seoul mayor's office, it is a situation where mentioning a rerun election should be refrained from," but added, "Young people raising the issue of a rerun to call for reform of the National Election Commission and sending a message to the government to manage elections more strictly should be taken seriously."
Asked whether he would comply if a rerun election lawsuit proceeds at the request of young people, Oh said, "There is no choice when it comes to lawsuits," and, "If a lawsuit is filed, goes through petition, and proceeds to an invalidation suit, the result must be accepted."
He continued, "It is stipulated that there must be grounds sufficient to affect the outcome under the law," adding, "That must be respected."
However, Oh said, "There is ample possibility in partial elections," adding, "There are places where city council, district council, and proportional representation seats can change by a few hundred votes."
He added, "The court will also judge that part strictly."