[Anchor]

As Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's verdict was overturned to not guilty in the second trial, the political realm has been sharply divided in its response. The Democratic Party strongly pushed back, calling it "a ruling defying public common sense," while the People Power Party welcomed it, saying "justice has prevailed," and launched a counteroffensive claiming that it is now time for the special counsel who indicted him to take responsibility.

Kim Bo-mi reports.

[Reporter]

Immediately after the appellate court's not guilty verdict for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was handed down, the Democratic Party promptly expressed regret, describing it as "a ruling that does not align with public common sense and standards."

The Democratic Party criticized, "While the court of first instance recognized the money as illegal political funds, the appellate court shielded it as legitimate money," adding, "Powerful figures who benefited from Myung Tae-kyun's public opinion polls have been acquitted one after another."

[Park Sung-joon / Senior Spokesperson, Democratic Party of Korea : Not guilty for Yoon Suk Yeol, and not guilty for Oh Se-hoon as well. Is this a court of law, or is it a 'vending machine' that dispenses not guilty verdicts?]

The Rebuilding Korea Party strongly criticized the bench regarding this ruling, saying, "It is sophistry that turns its back on judicial justice and an indulgence granting impunity to collusion with an illegal political broker," adding, "It will be recorded as a historic miscarriage of justice."

The People Power Party welcomed the ruling, stating that "justice has prevailed."

The People Power Party assessed, "The unreasonable sophistry of 'calling a deer a horse' that attempted to distort the truth based on the broker's vacillating statements has been brought to a halt before the judiciary's strict principle of evidentiary adjudication."

[Park Choong-kwon / Senior Spokesperson, People Power Party : It was a biased indictment. It was the product of a separate, targeted investigation designed to hunt down a predetermined target.]

The Reform Party pointed out, "The special counsel must take this ruling seriously and answer responsibly for the unreasonable indictment."

With Mayor Oh relieved of his legal burden following this acquittal, he is expected to broaden his standing as a prospective presidential contender within the conservative bloc, while political attention is anticipated to focus on the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling.

(Video by Park Seon-soo)