For People Power Party, Court Rulings on Choo, Daejang-dong Cases Present Both Risks and Opportunities

The People Power Party is closely watching the outcomes of trials involving Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, former President Yoon Suk Yeol's appeals court cases under the Public Official Election Act, and Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho's first trial, with rulings expected to be finalized one after another by year's end.

The appeals court verdict in Mayor Oh's case over allegations of paying opinion poll costs on behalf of Myung Tae-kyun is scheduled for October 23 at 2 p.m. Mayor Oh, who was fined 10 million won in the first trial, will be stripped of his mayorship if a fine of 1 million won or more — enough to invalidate his election — is upheld on appeal. However, Myung has countered that the remarks in the relevant recording were not about conducting opinion polls but rather part of discussions on a strategy to unify opposition candidates, raising the possibility that the court could maintain the guilty verdict from the first trial.

The first-trial ruling in Mayor Choo's case over obstruction of the martial law lifting vote is scheduled for October 18, and the insurrection special prosecutor has sought a 20-year prison sentence for him. Former Democratic Party leader Chung Chung-rae argued that if allegations of Choo's vote obstruction are proven true, the People Power Party should be dissolved as an unconstitutional party, while former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo also predicted that a guilty verdict for Choo could lead to party dissolution proceedings.