Oh Se-hoon gets a new lease on political life... Ruling party: “Appeal immediately”; opposition: “Justice has prevailed”

[Financial News] After Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was acquitted on appeal in the case involving allegations of proxy payment for Myeong Tae-gyun’s opinion poll expenses, the People Power Party said, “This ruling has shown that even if the truth comes late, it will inevitably find its rightful place.” Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, called it “a ruling that does not accord with common sense or the public’s expectations” and urged the special counsel to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Park Chung-kwon, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement on the 23rd, “The appeals court handed down a ruling that allows Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to remain in office. The statements of the political broker, who repeatedly changed his story, ultimately fell short of the evidence needed to strip Oh of his office.”
Park said, “From the outset, this was a biased indictment based solely on the words of a few people, without direct evidence,” and urged the special counsel to “deeply reflect on having shaken Seoul’s administration and made its citizens anxious with an excessive indictment. Stop wasting taxpayers’ money on excessive political indictments and trials, and humbly accept this ruling.”
He continued, “It is a great relief—and only right—that the administration of Seoul under Oh Se-hoon, entrusted to him by the city’s 10 million residents through their votes, can continue without disruption,” adding, “Justice has prevailed.”
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon said on social media, “At the time of the first-instance ruling in the case involving Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, I said that the testimony of those involved lacked credibility and the ruling involved many leaps in logic, making it difficult to understand, and that I hoped the appeals court would correct it. I’m glad that today the appeals court corrected the first-instance ruling without yielding to the blatant and crude pressure from Democratic Party of Korea politicians such as party leader Kim Min-seok and Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Seo Young-kyo.”
The floor leader said on social media, “Concrete evidence capable of proving guilt was presented during the special counsel’s investigation and the trial,” adding, “The first-instance court also considered this evidence as a whole and sentenced Mayor Oh Se-hoon to a fine of 10 million won that would cost him his office.”
The floor leader added, “The appeals court overturned all the established legal principles and granted Oh a free pass by accepting only the one-sided claims of his side,” and said, “It is difficult to accept that it handed down a ruling directly opposite to the first-instance decision despite clear evidence and testimony.”
He continued, calling it “a grave matter that undermined the fairness and neutrality of elections, which underpin democracy,” and said, “The special counsel must immediately appeal to the Supreme Court to correct the appeals court’s misapprehension of the law.”
Earlier, Oh was indicted on charges of receiving opinion-poll results from political broker Myeong Tae-gyun on 10 occasions in total ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, and having his supporter Kim Han-jung cover the 33 million won in costs on his behalf.
The first-instance court found that Oh had commissioned Myeong to conduct five opinion polls and had Kim pay 21 million won in expenses on his behalf, and sentenced him to a fine of 10 million won and ordered him to forfeit 21 million won. Because a fine of 1 million won or more would result in the loss of his mayoral office, a by-election in April next year was highly likely.
However, the appeals court said that none of Myeong’s statements could be trusted and that the allegations against Oh had not been sufficiently proven. By ultimately acquitting him, the court also revived Oh’s political standing.

[email protected] Lee Hae-ram Reporter