Oh Se-hoon Insists on the Need for Seoul Dating Service--to Stop Stalkers and Criminals?

Oh Se-hoon, mayor of Seoul. Yonhap News

Despite public criticism, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced his determination to promote Seoulting, a dating service for young people. He claimed the city could provide “safe dates” unlike private services, but has come under fire for a short-sighted measure that missed the point, such as the prevailing reluctance to marry and give birth and other causes of the low fertility rate.

Seoulting is one of several measures recently released by the Seoul metropolitan government to fight the low birth rate. The plan is to enable singles to meet other people “naturally” through activities like sports and cooking. The Seoul government has already submitted a supplemental budget for Seoulting to the Seoul Metropolitan Council.

When news of Seoulting got out, it triggered criticism that it was a typical example of a bureaucratic policy. People argued that the idea of introducing singles to one another failed to address the key problem since the fundamental cause of the low birth rate was high housing costs, which made people reluctant to marry and give birth, and a reality where it was difficult to juggle work and childcare at the same time. Besides, similar services, such as dating applications, have long been established in the private sector.

On June 13, when a council member asked Mayor Oh about Seoulting during an inquiry of government affairs at the Seoul Metropolitan Council, the mayor said, “The Seoul government can get involved and solve problems that cannot be solved by the private sector.” He suggested that a dating service provided by a local government was safer than similar private services, since it could guarantee the identities of the users.

Mayor Oh said, “They say when single women date men, they are nervous because they don’t know if he has a tendency to stalk women or to commit an extreme crime,” and explained, “At least (with Seoulting), they will receive information ensuring them that the person does not have any extreme tendencies.” He further said, “We will provide systematic devices to prevent the worst case (like stalking), such as proof of employment and a marriage certificate.”

The mayor of Seoul explained safety as the significance of Seoulting, but the risk of date violence and murder including stalking cannot be assessed by one’s employment status and career. In the case of Jeon Joo-hwan, who killed a woman he stalked at Sindang Station last September, he passed fierce competition and was successfully employed by the Seoul Metro.

Yang-Lee Hyun-kyung, co-representative of Korea Women’s Associations United called Seoulting an “outrageous idea” and criticized, “Not only are there doctors and lawyers among stalkers and perpetrators of sexual harassment and assault, but gender violence does not occur according to occupation or class. The idea that they can filter out harmful people based on a particular standard is a dangerous thought.”

Even inside the Seoul metropolitan government, voices argued that they could not filter out criminal tendencies with the Seoulting membership requirements and said, “That is something one should decide after going out with a person an ample number of times.”

Other local governments are pursuing similar projects. Seongnam-si in Gyeonggi-do is planning an event for this coming July, while Cheongju-si in Chungcheongbuk-do and Gimhae-si in Gyeongsangnam-do are also promoting similar events.

Mayor Oh sought the public’s understanding and asked them to look at Seoulting while considering the question, “Will they have to resort to something like that in the future because the fertility rate is that low?”