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| ▲ Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon answers questions from reporters during a New Year's news conference at Seoul City Hall in the capital on Feb. 10, 2026. (Yonhap) |
Seoul mayor-news conference
Seoul mayor rules out possibility of leaving PPP
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who recently clashed with Jang Dong-hyeok, the leader of the People Power Party (PPP), over pending political issues, denied speculation on his possible defection from the main opposition party Tuesday.
"I'm not considering anything like leaving the PPP," Oh said in a New Year's press conference at Seoul City Hall, urging the party leadership to prioritize public sentiment and expand support among moderates.
Oh publicly called for Jang's resignation late last month, when the party's Supreme Council voted to expel former party leader Han Dong-hoon over his family's defamatory comments about former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
As the party has begun disciplinary proceedings against Rep. Bae Hyun-jin, known to be close to Han, some have raised concerns about its impact on Oh's nomination for the June 3 local elections and the possibility of him leaving the party as a result.
"Something unprecedented in the history of political parties is happening right now. The so-called purge politics, the practice of expelling political opponents from the party, is not politics. It's a deviation from politics," the mayor said.
Oh repeatedly asked the PPP leadership to prioritize public sentiment, expressing concern about its attempt to hold together two incompatible values in preparation for the elections.
"There's no way the party leadership wouldn't understand my call for advancing into the vast sea of public sentiment and pursuing the path of expanding support among moderates," he said.
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