ED Seoul mayor's acquittal offers chance for PPP housecleaning

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon saw the clouds that loomed over his political career all but disappear Friday. An appellate court acquitted the five-term mayor of violating the Political Funds Act over allegations that a supporter paid for his opinion polling. Had the ruling not been overturned and he had been slapped with a fine of 1 million won ($755) or more, Oh would have been unseated and barred from running for elected office for five years.

The mayor wore a broad smile, just like when he was reelected in the June 3 local elections. His fifth-term win was unexpected, bumping up the prospects of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

A Supreme Court ruling is pending, but the appellate court's reversal in itself speaks of a brighter political future for Oh and the PPP on the path to the 2030 presidential election. A Realmeter survey released Monday showed that support for the PPP stood at 42.6 percent compared to the 36 percent of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), with the gap between the two larger than the 6.6-percentage-point margin of error.

In July, a local court found Oh partially guilty for allegedly asking a supporter to pay for opinion polls ahead of the 2021 election and ordered the mayor to pay a 10 million won fine. The Seoul High Court overturned that decision.

Largely unfettered, Oh stands on a platform to propel the conservative bloc's outreach to a broader electorate including moderates. Moreover, he gives his party a chance to reclaim the opposition role of implementing checks and balances on the ruling party and the administration. Within the conservative camp, Oh is also among the party's potential presidential contenders, which includes independent Rep. Han Dong-hoon and incumbent PPP Chairman Jang Dong-hyeok.

Oh has shown that he is willing to challenge leadership, voicing opposition against PPP leaders ahead of the June local elections over candidate nominations. If Oh is able to rehabilitate the PPP following the unprecedented political crisis wrought by the impeached former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, he may pull ahead of Han and Jang. That is likely to run into internal resistance.

But the foremost task for any potential presidential contender from the PPP will be to bring rival figures into one big tent, in order to exit the political swamp the party was left in following Yoon's downfall. When that tent goes up, it will invariably create a space for moderates and shy conservatives to declare support as the party's bitter partisan divide persists.

Partisan wrangling is corrosive. Before the appellate court's ruling, DPK leader Rep. Kim Min-seok was already "mentally preparing" for a possible by-election for a new Seoul mayor. Following the ruling, the DPK leadership criticized what it deemed as the politicization of the court. Earlier calls for the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae also reemerged within the ruling party. A court ruling should not lead to such politically charged partisan attacks.

The relationship between the ruling bloc and the judiciary, currently turbulent as President Lee Jae Myung pushes for judiciary reform, surely does not entail camaraderie. Cho and Lee remain on different pages over judicial reform and the nomination of a Supreme Court justice candidate. But criticism of a court ruling should not escalate into political jawboning of the courts; that does not sit well with the principles of democracy.

While political resentment may linger on a personal or partisan level, lawmakers should refrain from attacking all those considered the "other," including an opposition party or government branches.

Following his acquittal, Oh can now proceed with his redevelopment plans for the city. It may well be time to show who can get things done, instead of senseless partisan fighting. A small window of opportunity has now opened up for conservatives.