▲ Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announces his plan to register his candidacy with the main opposition People Power Party for the June local elections, at City Hall in Seoul on March, 17, 2026. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) Seoul mayor-elections

(2nd LD) Seoul mayor registers candidacy with PPP for local elections amid strife inside main opposition party

(ATTN: UPDATES headline, lead with registration; ADDS 2nd para)

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, March 17 (Yonhap) -- Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon registered his candidacy with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to compete for a fifth term in the June local elections, the party's nomination committee said Tuesday.

Oh completed his registration earlier in the day, ending days of speculation over whether he would enter the party's nomination race in the wake of internal strife within the PPP over the direction of the party's leadership and discussions over candidate nomination.

The four-term mayor of the PPP had twice delayed his registration over what he said was a lack of effort from the party to sever ties with ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

His decision was closely watched as he is considered a strong contender for the Seoul mayoralty on June 3 despite falling public support for the PPP in the wake of Yoon's failed imposition of martial law in December 2024.

"I am registering as a PPP candidate for Seoul mayor with a sense of responsibility toward Seoul's citizens and a spirit of putting the party first," Oh said during a press conference at City Hall.

"I feel an indescribable sense of responsibility when I think of the love and support that the people and the conservative bloc have sent me. I could not take that expectation and trust lightly," he said.

Oh had demanded PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok form an "innovative" election committee headed by someone who could clearly signal the party's distancing from Yoon.

But Jang reportedly balked at the idea over what he saw as a call to take a back seat.

"Unfortunately, Chairman Jang Dong-hyeok and the leadership did not show a determination for change that was acceptable by the people," Oh said, accusing them of instead embracing ultraright conservative YouTubers and putting numerous election candidates at risk.

"If the Jang Dong-hyeok leadership abandons the will to reform and does not change itself, I will start the change in Seoul."

The mayor stressed that change and innovation are essential in order to win the elections, and that his registration is based on a determination to get the innovative election committee launched.

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