Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon officially declared his candidacy for the 21st presidential election on the 9th. However, unlike his rival in the People Power Party's primary, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, he will not resign from his position. He plans to take a leave of absence during the primary period.
Mayor Oh stated after attending a meeting at the Youth Employment Academy's Dobong Campus that he judged it was proper to maintain his position as mayor until the primary concludes.
He added, "In fact, being selected as the party's representative candidate is essential to advancing to the final round of the presidential election," and noted, "Considering that, I believe it's my duty to the citizens of Seoul who elected me to conduct the election while maintaining my mayoral position."
Mayors must resign 30 days before the election to run for president. However, they can participate in the primary while retaining their mayoral status. Yet, during the primary period, Mayor Oh will not be able to fully perform his duties, so he decided to use personal leave to participate in the intra-party primaries.
Since beginning his term as the 39th mayor of Seoul in July 2022, Mayor Oh has hardly taken any personal leave. It is understood that he has about 50 days of leave available.
Mayor Oh is scheduled to announce his candidacy for the presidency on the 13th, a day before registrations begin for the People Power Party's presidential primary, at a location that can represent his core philosophy of 'walking with the weak.' On that day, Mayor Oh stated, "My mindset for the upcoming presidential election will be 'walking with the weak.'"
He continued, "It is really important to embrace those who have fallen behind in the process of development and prosperity and to help them move into the future through the concept of walking with the weak," explaining, "The philosophy of my administration has been 'the attractive special city of companionship,' and various promises will be emerging in the future, with a strong focus on walking with the weak."
Mayor Oh has implemented an income support experiment known as 'Stepping Stone Income' (Safe Income) and launched an educational platform called 'Seoul Run' for vulnerable youth. He has also developed the Vulnerability Index as a policy tool.
Recently, Mayor Oh set up an office in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido to prepare for the primaries. About 10 personnel from the Seoul city administration, including Kim Byung-min, the Vice Mayor for Political Affairs, Lee Jong-hyun, the Special Advisor for Civil Communication, Park Chan-ku, the Special Advisor for Political Affairs, and Lee Ji-hyun, the Special Advisor for Vision Strategy, have already resigned or are expected to do so soon.
Among the mayors affiliated with the People Power Party, Mayor Oh, Mayor Hong, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, and Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo are all challenging for the presidential primary. Among them, Mayor Hong is set to resign from his mayoral position on the 11th and is scheduled to announce his candidacy on the 14th. Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon, who is also running in the Democratic Party's presidential primary, will not resign from his gubernatorial position.