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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

South Korea: Opposition demands apology from Seoul Mayor over political funds case

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified In the courts
  • The main opposition party in South Korea, the Democratic Party, is demanding Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon apologize for alleged political fund law violations.
  • Oh Se-hoon, who was found guilty in a first-instance trial and faces potential loss of his mayoral position, maintains his innocence and is appealing the ruling.
  • The Democratic Party criticizes the mayor for focusing on his legal defense rather than city affairs while the appeal process is ongoing.

South Korea's main opposition party, the Democratic Party, intensified its pressure on Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, demanding he apologize to the citizens of Seoul for alleged violations of the political funds law. The party's floor leader, Lee Ju-hee, stated that Oh should stop hiding behind excuses and offer a sincere apology.

Oh Se-hoon was handed a sentence of a 10 million won fine and a 21 million won forfeiture in his first trial, a ruling that could cost him his mayoral position. He is currently appealing this decision. The Democratic Party criticized Oh for dismissing the first-instance court's guilty verdict as 'vague speculation' and noted his efforts to overturn the ruling, including expanding his legal team to 16 lawyers.

Stop hiding behind excuses and apologize to the citizens of Seoul.

— Lee Ju-heeThe Democratic Party's floor leader urged Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to take responsibility for alleged political funding violations.

Lee accused the mayor of being preoccupied with crafting a 'not guilty' narrative in court while pressing public issues like housing instability remain unresolved for Seoul's residents. "The 9.3 million citizens of Seoul entrusted the mayor with managing their lives, not with personal legal defense," Lee stated, emphasizing that Oh should first apologize for the political funding controversy he is embroiled in before insisting on his innocence.

The first instance court's judgment was based on unreasonable speculation.

— Oh Se-hoon's defense teamArguing against the initial guilty verdict during the appeal hearing.

During the first hearing of the appeal at the Seoul High Court on Tuesday, Oh's defense team reiterated his plea of not guilty. They argued that the mayor never commissioned the opinion poll in question and did not request the funder to pay for it. The defense also contended that the first-instance court's ruling was based on unreasonable speculation, linking Oh to the poll and the subsequent payment.

The appellate court has scheduled four more hearings through next month for witness testimonies and expects to deliver its verdict around October 23.

The 9.3 million citizens of Seoul entrusted the mayor with managing their lives, not with personal legal defense.

— Lee Ju-heeCriticizing the mayor's focus on his legal battle over pressing city issues.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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