Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party dropped his bid for the party’s nomination for the June 3 local elections, effectively stepping back from the Seoul mayoral race.
The four-term mayor did not submit his application by the 6 p.m. deadline Sunday for metropolitan mayoral nominations set by the People Power Party.
Oh has urged the party to “normalize the party’s line” to improve its chances in the local elections and reverse the party’s free-fall approval ratings.
“Resolving the prior task of normalizing the party’s line can turn a path of defeat into a path of victory,” Oh said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
Oh has repeatedly urged People Power Party chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok to clarify the party’s direction and shift its stance following the conservative bloc’s defeat in last year’s presidential election.
The issue is closely tied to the party’s stance toward former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached and removed from office over his Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration.
Despite mounting calls within the party for a clear break with Yoon in an effort to broaden its appeal ahead of the local elections, Jang has stressed maintaining ties with the former president and warned against abandoning the party’s conservative base.
Oh’s move underscores continuing divisions within the People Power Party over how to redefine its political direction following Yoon’s impeachment and the conservative bloc’s electoral setbacks.
Fifth-term lawmaker Rep. Na Kyung-won, widely considered a possible contender aligned with the party leadership, said Sunday she would not run for the Seoul mayoral race. Rep. Shin Dong-uk, a first-term lawmaker and the party’s senior supreme council member, also ruled out a bid.
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a four-term lawmaker and the party’s former presidential candidate in the 2022 election, likewise announced he would not run for Seoul mayor.
As of Sunday evening, those who applied for the party’s nomination for Seoul mayor include Yoon Hee-sook, a former lawmaker, and Lee Sang-kyu, chair of the party’s Seongbuk-gu committee in Seoul.
With application rates falling for key posts, including the Seoul mayoral race, the party announced it would extend the deadline to 10 p.m. Sunday.
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