Seoul, April 18 : South Korea's main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said on Saturday it has chosen incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon as its candidate for the mayoral race in the June 3 local elections.

Oh beat PPP Rep. Park Soo-min and former PPP Rep. Yun Hee-suk in a three-way primary, Rep. Park Duk-hyum, the party's nomination committee chief, said, setting him up against candidate Chong Won-o of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) in the mayoral election.

Oh will be aiming to win his third consecutive and fifth non-consecutive term as mayor of Seoul, reports Yonhap news agency.

In a press conference after the announcement, Oh cast the Seoul mayoralty as the "last safeguard" against the "recklessness" of the Lee Jae Myung administration.

"These local elections are not routine elections held every four years but the final battleground for the restoration of the rule of law and balanced democracy," he said at the party's headquarters.

Oh pledged that in the event he is reelected, he will take it as the citizens' command to rebuild the opposition party. The mayor appeared to refer to the disarray within the PPP following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration in 2024.

While accusing the ruling party of failed real estate policies, Oh laid out a five-point vision for the capital city, centred on the theme of co-prosperity and affordable home ownership.

On his DP rival, he said Chong's administrative philosophy will likely end up hurting him, and he expects citizens to make a "wise" choice.

In a Facebook post, Chong congratulated Oh on the nomination and said he looks forward to a "fair and honourable contest that reflects the dignity of Seoul's citizens."

Born in 1961, Oh entered politics in 2000 after winning a parliamentary seat in Seoul's Gangnam district. Though he announced his retirement from politics four years later, he made a comeback in 2006 by becoming the first Seoul mayor in their 40s.

Oh won reelection but resigned after staking his mayoralty on the results of a referendum on free school meals in 2011.

After 10 years of absence from the political scene, he returned to City Hall by winning the April 2021 by-election and won reelection in 2022.

/IANS