New political force conquers Seoul
Former mayor Oh Se-hoon stepped down in August, taking full responsibility for losing a referendum to decide the scope of a free lunch program for schools. The telegenic, once-rising star of the ruling Grand National Party staked his post on the vote, which asked citizens whether they approved of providing free lunches to all elementary students in the first through fourth grades. The opposition-controlled Seoul Metropolitan Council unilaterally passed a bill to that effect in 2010.
Calling the entire issue of lunches “populist policy,” the mayor argued that free lunches should be provided only for students in the lower 50 percent of income brackets. Among approximately 2 million eligible voters in the capital, only 25.7 percent cast ballots, fewer than the one-third needed to validate the vote. With two years and eight months remaining in his term, Oh tendered his resignation two days later, although the ruling party discouraged him from quitting the powerful post before next year’s legislative and presidential elections.
In the Oct. 26 mayoral by-election, lawyer-turned-activist Park Wonsoon, who was endorsed by software mogul and presidential favorite Ahn Cheol-soo, won as a liberal independent, beating out the GNP’s Na Kyungwon with 53.4 percent compared to her 46.21 percent. In the aftermath of the defeat, a group of ruling GNP senior leaders resigned after reformers inside the party criticized them. The party’s likely presidential candidate, Park Geun-hye, took over interim leadership of the ruling party.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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