Han Byeongdo: "Oh Sehoon's Appellate Acquittal Hard to Accept... Will Push for Political Funds Act Amendments"

"Third-party payments must not become a get-out-of-jail-free card for circumventing the Political Funds Act"
People Power Party’s parliamentary audit conduct: "Turned into a Shorts factory"

Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on October 26 that there were “far too many aspects that are difficult to accept” in the appellate court’s acquittal of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon over allegations that someone else paid for opinion polls, adding that he would pursue amendments to the Political Funds Act to clarify responsibility for third-party payments.

At a Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on October 26, Han said, “Unlike the first trial, which found some charges proven after determining that statements consistent with objective evidence, such as KakaoTalk messages and call records, were credible, the appellate court did not find that evidence sufficient to corroborate those statements.”

Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, delivers opening remarks at a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on the 26th. 2026.10.26 Photo by Yoon Dong-ju

“We can examine how much credence to give Myung Tae-gyun’s statements,” he said, “but it is incomprehensible to deny the significance of the objective evidence supporting them.”

He added, “If a supporter’s money was passed to a broker and opinion poll results related to a candidate were shared with the campaign, shouldn’t that connection be thoroughly examined?” He stressed, “If things continue this way, third-party payments will become a get-out-of-jail-free card for circumventing the Political Funds Act.”

Han said, “I hope the Supreme Court will rigorously review the assessment of the evidence and the application of the law, and correct the errors in the appellate court’s ruling.” He added, “The Democratic Party will also pursue amendments to clarify responsibility for third-party payments and strengthen the effectiveness of the Political Funds Act.”

He also criticized the People Power Party’s conduct during parliamentary audits. “The People Power Party has turned audit hearings into a set for filming YouTube Shorts,” Han said. “There have been more than a few occasions when it has focused on Shorts-style attacks, using abusive language and shouting, and derailed the audits.”

“At last week’s National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee audit, people associated with lawmaker Lee Jin-sook caused a stir by rudely filming from behind a ruling party lawmaker,” he said. “There is even criticism that audit hearings have become Shorts factories rather than venues for scrutinizing policy.”

He stressed, “They must not disrupt audits under the pretext of publicity or put sensational footage ahead of policy. What should be raised at parliamentary audits is not view counts, but the quality of policy.”

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