Oh Se-hoon says rival Jeong Won-o 'falls short,' wounds own supporters' pride

People Power Party Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon on Monday fired back at Democratic Party of Korea rival Jeong Won-o, who had labeled Oh a "force of the past," saying Seoul residents "do not entrust their city to a candidate who falls short and is unprepared."

Speaking to reporters near Wolgok Station in Seongbuk-gu on Monday afternoon, Oh said Jeong had "utterly failed to meet citizens' expectations" over the roughly one month of campaigning. "This is no time for wordplay about who represents the past and who represents the future," he added.

Oh said even Democratic Party supporters who had wanted to back Jeong were likely reconsidering after watching him repeatedly dodge debates. "I think they may have largely withdrawn their desire to support him," Oh said. "I wonder whether watching their own party's candidate has wounded their pride and self-respect."

On the appearance of former presidents on the campaign trail, Oh said the division of roles was "being carried out very strategically and well," and suggested Jeong's criticism reflected "anxiety over fluctuating approval ratings." Oh also renewed his attack on housing policy, saying the decline in jeonse and monthly rent supply and the endless rise in prices were "clearly the result of the Lee Jae Myung government's failed policies." He said he is clearly stating even now that he will work to correct this at the first Cabinet meeting after taking office. He noted that Jeong "has not once clearly stated his own position on the matter."

Turning to a controversy involving Democratic Party Yangcheon-gu district mayor candidate Woo Hyeong-chan, Oh said the episode showed both candidates were "unprepared in various ways." Woo had drawn criticism after demanding a kiss from a baby during a joint campaign event with Jeong at a park. "When Woo did that, candidate Jeong was just smiling," Oh said. "If he had any sense of the problem, he should have stopped it right then and there."