Oh Se-hoon Faces 1 Year and 6 Months in Prison Sought for Alleged Opinion Poll Payment Proxy

Oh: "What evidence supports the charges?"

Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul, has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison in the prosecution's recommendation for allegedly commissioning an opinion poll from Myung Taekyun and having a supporter pay the related costs on his behalf.

On the 17th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon appeared at the first trial sentencing hearing for the 'Myung Taegyun Public Opinion Poll Suspicion' case held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and expressed his stance. Photo by Yonhap News

On June 17, the special prosecutor team led by Min Junggi requested the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 22 (Presiding Judge Jo Hyungwoo) to sentence Mayor Oh to one year and six months in prison and impose a forfeiture of 33 million won at the sentencing hearing for violations of the Political Funds Act. For Kang Chulwon, former Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul, and businessman Kim Hanjung, who were indicted together, the prosecution also demanded one year in prison each.

The special prosecutor stated, “Despite his position as a prominent politician who should comply with the Political Funds Act more than anyone, Mayor Oh had the costs of an opinion poll, which was closely connected to his political activities, paid illegally by a third party, undermining the legislative purpose of ensuring transparency in political funds.”

The prosecution further argued, “He circumvented regulations on the receipt of political funds, eroding public trust in the legal order, and although he was ultimately the beneficiary of the crime, he has denied the charges and avoided responsibility during the investigation and trial.”

Mayor Oh’s legal team maintains that he only contacted Mr. Myung as part of a candidate vetting process and never requested an opinion poll or asked anyone to pay the costs. They particularly emphasized that the case is the result of Mr. Myung’s fraud and extortion. The defense lawyer also asserted that the poll results were delivered to Kim Chongin, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, and former assemblyman Ji Sangwook, among others, but not directly to Mayor Oh.

Additionally, the defense argued that the special prosecutor had reversed the roles of victim and perpetrator, making Mayor Oh the target of a politically motivated indictment. In his final statement, Mayor Oh said, “Prosecutors have been weaponized based on a special prosecutor act for the Democratic Party,” further questioning, “What evidence supports the charges, given there is no direct proof that Mr. Myung spoke to me by phone?”

Mayor Oh was indicted without detention on December 1 last year on charges of receiving the results of ten opinion polls from Mr. Myung ahead of the April 7, 2021 by-election for Seoul mayor, and having Mr. Kim, known as a supporter, pay the 33 million won cost on his behalf.

Kang, who was then the chief secretary of Mayor Oh's campaign, was indicted for contacting Mr. Myung under Mayor Oh’s direction and exchanging surveys, thereby participating in the poll process. Mr. Kim was also brought to trial for violating the Political Funds Act by paying the costs on behalf of Mayor Oh.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.