Rebuilding Korea Party: "Oh Sehoon's Appeal Acquittal Inspires Not Just Disappointment but Anger... Will Go Down in History as a Grave Miscarriage of Justice"

The Cho Kuk Innovation Party criticized the acquittal of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in his appeal trial on the 23rd, calling it “sophistry that turns its back on judicial justice and a pardon for collusion with an illegal political broker.”

Park Sang-hyun, a spokesperson for the party, commented on the ruling in Mayor Oh’s appeal trial that day, saying it “inspires not just disappointment but anger.” He added, “Despite the clear existence of payments on behalf of a candidate for election opinion poll costs and improper collusion with a political broker, the court acquitted him. This will go down in history as a grave miscarriage of justice in which the judiciary itself cast aside the scales of justice and gave a free pass to illegal electioneering and the receipt of political funds.”

That day, the Seoul High Court acquitted Mayor Oh, who had been tried on charges of violating the Political Funds Act. In the first trial, he was sentenced to a fine of 10 million won and an additional collection of 21 million won, penalties that could have cost him his mayoral office. However, the second-instance court overturned the first-instance guilty verdict, saying it was difficult to accept as true the testimony of Myung Tae-gyun, a key witness.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks about his acquittal after the appellate court hearing in the case involving the alleged payment of opinion poll expenses on behalf of Myung Tae-gyun, at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd. Yonhap News.

Spokesperson Park criticized the ruling, saying, “It is utterly incomprehensible that the appellate court overturned so feebly a matter for which the first-instance court had imposed serious legal responsibility.” He added, “This ruling, which turned its back on the numerous statements made by Myung Tae-gyun and the reality of the payment of opinion poll costs through a third party, Kim Han-jung, has strayed far from the common sense and legal sensibilities of the people.”

Spokesperson Park said, “This has once again shown us the shameful self-portrait of a judiciary whose perception of reality is detached from the world and which has gone out of its way to turn its back on the substance of the case and the truth.”

Regarding Mayor Oh, he said, “The fact that he used illegal means to win the election and tried to distort public opinion has already been made unequivocally clear before history and the citizens.” He added, “Rather than hiding behind his legal acquittal and cowardly celebrating, Mayor Oh should get down on his knees and apologize to the people of Seoul for having shaken city administration and undermined fairness.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.