Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announces he won't run for president

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Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announces he won't run for president

Published: 12 Apr. 2025, 11:45 Updated: 12 Apr. 2025, 15:51

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announces that he won't run for the next president at the emergency conference in the conservative People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 12. [NEWS1]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced Saturday he will not run in the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for June 3.

"In order to normalize abnormalities, I'm not running for the presidency," Oh said at an emergency conference in the conservative People Power Party (PPP) headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, saying that he will continue in his role, comparing himself to an enlisted soldier.

"None in our party can be free from the responsibility of the failure of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration," Oh said. "Conviction is, of course, an important virtue for a politician, but you also need to have the courage to stop when you have to stop."

Addressing accusations that he is heavily responsible for the recent political unrest, Oh pledged to transform the conservative party into one that can be trusted by the public again.

"Since the impeachment of the president and the early presidential election became a reality, I have been agonizing for days and days, feeling like there is a heavy stone on my chest," the mayor said. "I kept asking myself if it is really the time to step up while leaving open the possibility of stepping down as mayor in the middle of my term."

"I decided to step aside and open a way for victory, if [this is the way that] people can truly feel that the conservative party has been reborn and they can count on it," Mayor Oh said. "My conclusion was that I shouldn't fall into the same trap of the rampant arrogance of 'It must be me,' the trap that turned our politics abnormal."

Oh asked other PPP candidates to make being "a companion to the weak" the core platform of their campaigns.

"Only after our party has overcome the stigma of being on the side of the rich and vested interests and becomes a party that walks with those left behind, that's when we can earnestly appeal to the people to trust us again," he said.

"I don't believe my role disappears just because I decided not to run for president," he added. "I will do my best to help other candidates who share my vision. As a member of the conservative party, I will maintain my foundation and continue to take care of the people."

Oh's surprising move came after Lee Jae-myung, the former Democratic Party leader, officially declared his candidacy on April 10. From the PPP, a total of nine candidates have either officially announced or intimated their candidacy including former party leader Han Dong-hoon, former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo and Rep. Na Kyung-won. Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo is expected to officially announce his candidacy on April 14.

The PPP plans to narrow down the number of candidates to four in its presidential primary through public opinion polls and cut it to two by equally weighing a poll of party members and a public opinion poll.

Updated, April 12, 2025: Added more comments by Oh.

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]