'It's a relief that Kim Min-seok said he won't hold me back'
'He also said the Garden of Gratitude should be left as is'
'I hope Seoul city governance improves residents' quality of life through cooperation'
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon welcomed the Democratic Party of Korea's shift toward a more cautious stance on its plan to build youth rental housing in Yongsan Park, calling the change "late but fortunate." He said he would work through cooperation with the Democratic Party to improve the quality of life for Seoul residents.
Oh made the remarks Wednesday morning at a party-government consultative meeting between the People Power Party's Seoul chapter and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, held at Seoul City Hall. About 30 people attended, including Oh, PPP Seoul chapter Chairwoman Cho Eun-hee, Supreme Council Member Shin Dong-wook, and local party chapter heads. Cho was recently elected as chairwoman.
In his opening remarks, Oh said that at a Democratic Party Seoul chapter meeting held Tuesday, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok had publicly stated that the party's goal was not to obstruct the mayor but to support him. "It was a relief," Oh said. He added that Kim had also suggested the Garden of Gratitude project would likely have to continue regardless of who holds the mayoral office.
Oh said he was also encouraged to hear that after visiting Yongsan Park, Kim had stepped back from the push to build youth rental housing there, saying a more cautious approach was needed. "It was late, but I was relieved," Oh said.
Earlier, at a Seoul budget policy consultative meeting held at the National Assembly on Tuesday, Kim had said he "could not help but feel that the Yongsan Park site development must be approached with great caution."
Oh acknowledged the difficult political landscape following the recent election, saying that while he had survived to continue leading the city, the composition of the Seoul City Council and district mayors had become hard to navigate. He said his consistent efforts to engage the Democratic Party in dialogue had begun to serve as a lubricant for restoring normalcy to city governance, and that Tuesday's response from the party represented a meaningful shift.
"There are many issues at the national political level where we must take opposing positions," Oh said, "but at the level of city governance, I have come to hope that cooperation with the Democratic Party can at least serve as a foundation for improving the quality of life for Seoul residents."
Cho said she hoped such meetings would be held more frequently and expanded to regional party-government consultations across Seoul. "If we build a Seoul where quality of life truly improves, it will ultimately raise our party's approval rating and lead to good results in the general election," she said.
Shin urged Oh to see through unresolved issues despite legal risks, saying the consequences of the government's missteps had weighed heavily on Seoul. He called on the mayor to keep the party united around city leadership so that non-incumbent chapter heads could win Assembly seats, and asked that consultative meetings be convened regularly whenever important matters arise.
ikson@heraldcorp.com
