Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. Yonhap News

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has left a "flaw in an otherwise perfect piece."

On the 28th, Mayor Oh directly criticized the Democratic Party on social media (SNS), stating, "The Democratic Party's attempt to label the People Power Party as a 'rebellion force' and suppress the opposition party is the true destruction of the constitution," but he hastily drew a line by saying, "Martial law was wrong."

Critics argue that he is misleading public perception with a political gesture akin to "both-sides-ism" by hastily concluding that the President's invocation of emergency powers, as stipulated in the constitution, was wrong, and before a final judicial ruling on whether martial law constituted rebellion. They contend that his criticism is worse than not offering any criticism at all.

In a post titled 'The Democratic Party must immediately stop suppressing the opposition party by labeling them as rebels' on Facebook that day, Mayor Oh stated, "The special prosecutor's indictment of Representative Chu (Kyung-ho) is a 'political indictment' and an 'indictment to suppress the opposition party' that aligns with the Democratic Party's labeling of rebellion." He continued, "Representative Chung Chin-rai is not hesitating to threaten the dissolution of political parties, speaking of 'accomplices in rebellion' towards People Power Party lawmakers. South Korea does not belong to the Lee Jae-myung regime and the Democratic Party."

He added, "Our citizens are well aware of the need for checks and balances against overwhelming power. The Democratic Party must remember that the only end to their rampage, which tramples on parliamentary democracy and destroys constitutional order, is the stern judgment of the people." He also demanded, "The judiciary must ensure that lawmakers, who are constitutional organs, can be tried without detention and have their right to defense guaranteed."

However, at the beginning of his post, Mayor Oh mistakenly stated without basis, "Martial law was clearly a wrong decision. The People Power Party, as the ruling party at the time, has responsibility for the state of emergency martial law and for handing over power to this inhumane force." He then followed up with, "But what is clear is that the People Power Party is not a party that conspired in martial law," leaving an impression of hastiness in evading responsibility and a sense of regret.

This is because if President Yoon Suk-yeol is acquitted in the rebellion trial, Mayor Oh's remarks could be proven baseless. For this reason, some intellectuals are pointing out that "we should not be preoccupied with defending against the rebellion frame the Democratic Party is trying to impose on the People Power Party, but rather the People Power Party should more actively and aggressively counter the Democratic Party's rebellious behavior."

Mayor Oh Se-hoon's Facebook.

Hanmiilbo Editorial Department