[Anchor]
Ahead of an appellate court verdict today (October 23), tension is gripping the political sphere. The Democratic Party anticipates that the first-instance ruling will remain unchanged, while the People Power Party expects the verdict to be overturned to an acquittal.
Kim Bo-mi reports.
[Reporter]
Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said this morning (October 23) on a party YouTube broadcast regarding the appellate verdict for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon that while it is "difficult to assert definitively," he has found no new circumstances that would change the guilty ruling.
He added that the party is preparing for the possibility of holding a by-election for Seoul mayor next year.
[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leader: We are mentally preparing with the view that (the first-instance decision) will be upheld. In the end, it likely means that the possibility of holding a by-election for Seoul mayor is increasing.]
Kim indicated that various matters are being reviewed under the leadership of Kim Young-bae, head of the party's Seoul chapter, hinting at keeping possibilities open for a diverse field of candidates by saying, "There are candidates from various factions, and there could also be candidates outside the party."
The People Power Party expressed confidence that the first-instance guilty verdict would be overturned to an acquittal, stating that it is "confident of an acquittal in which justice will prevail."
Through a party commentary, the People Power Party said that moving past the first trial, which relied on speculation and conflicting testimony, a newly submitted phone recording between Myung Tae-kyun and businessman Kim Han-jeong will serve as clear physical evidence that Mayor Oh was never involved in the proxy payment for opinion polls.
[Kim Tae-gyu / People Power Party Senior Floor Spokesperson: In a situation where evidence sufficient to prove guilt has not clearly emerged, it is not appropriate to hastily arrive at a guilty verdict.]
If today's appellate ruling is overturned to an acquittal, Mayor Oh's path toward a presidential bid is expected to gain momentum, whereas if the guilty verdict is upheld, both Mayor Oh and the conservative bloc are projected to suffer a political blow.
Within the Democratic Party, as leader Kim Min-seok previously stated he would seek a vote of confidence if defeated in a Seoul mayoral by-election, repercussions are expected to ripple through the ruling camp as well depending on whether the by-election takes place and what its outcome will be.
(Video by Park Seon-soo | Graphics by Yoon Young-je)
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