Democrats decry 'vague assumptions' after Oh Se-hoon's acquittal in second trial... People Power Party fires back with 'mote and beam' accusation
The ruling and opposition parties reacted in starkly opposite ways after the Seoul High Court on the 23rd acquitted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of political funds law violations in his appeals trial. On the 24th, the Democratic Party of Korea pushed back against the court's judgment, saying 'vague assumptions prevailed over objective evidence,' while the People Power Party countered by accusing the ruling party of 'mote and beam' behavior (seeing the speck in another's eye while ignoring the beam in one's own).
At a press briefing at the National Assembly's communications hall that afternoon, Lee Joo-hee, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, said, "It is hard to accept the judgment of the appeals panel led by Judge Roe Hoe-geun, which found Mayor Oh not guilty," arguing that "the appeals court turned a blind eye to objective evidence and reached its conclusion based on vague speculation." She pointed out, "The evidence in this case was not limited to Myeong Tae-kyun's testimony. A public opinion poll was conducted and the results were relayed, and Oh's supporter Kim Han-jung paid 33 million won to Myeong's side. The appeals court also acknowledged that money changed hands."
The Democratic Party then called for the Supreme Court to weigh in. Floor spokesperson Lee criticized, "The appeals court said it found it hard to accept as 'common sense' that Mayor Oh directly asked his supporter to make illegal proxy political contributions that could significantly affect his political standing," adding that "this amounts to ignoring a wealth of objective evidence and records to the contrary based on the vague inference that he would not have done something politically risky." She assessed, "This verdict falls short of the judiciary's duty to strictly determine the reality of political funds transactions," and added, "The Supreme Court must thoroughly examine the appeals court's misunderstanding of the legal principles on political donations, its omissions in weighing evidence, and its insufficient fact-finding, and correct the errors."
The People Power Party dismissed the ruling party's offensive as "mote and beam" behavior. In a statement, Park Sung-hoon, the PPP's senior spokesperson, said, "The entire ruling camp's talk of 'taming the judiciary' and 'impeaching Chief Justice Jo Hee-de' is an extremely dangerous move that directly negates the separation of powers." He asked, "Is it really the proper attitude of a ruling party to call rulings 'judicial justice' when they suit its tastes, brand unfavorable ones 'political verdicts,' and intimidate the chief justice and the courts?" He noted, "The ruling camp, which attempted to cancel the indictment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol and repeatedly used the conviction of former leader Cho Kuk as fodder for political attacks, should reflect on whether it has any standing to lecture the judiciary." He added, "Judicial decisions must not waver according to political calculations," and "the ruling camp's habit of wielding impeachment threats over every ruling it dislikes is a direct challenge to judicial independence."
