Oh Se-hoon Appeal on Opinion Poll Payment Allegations Concludes... 'Recorded Call' Becomes Key Variable

Appeals Hearing Concludes on October 2

First Trial: 10 Million Won Fine for Oh

Kim Hanjung and Myung Taekyun's Call Emerges as Key Evidence

Includes Statement: "Oh Se-hoon Doesn't Know"

The appeals trial for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has been accused of having his opinion poll expenses paid by a third party, will conclude on October 2. Recently, a recorded phone call that appears to show Mayor Oh was not aware of the polling has been admitted as evidence, becoming the key variable in the second trial.

The 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court, presided over by Chief Judge Koo Hoegeun, will hold the final hearing on Mayor Oh’s appeal against a political funds law violation at 2 p.m. on this day.

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon. The Asia Business Daily

In the first trial, the court found that Mayor Oh had commissioned five opinion polls from Myung Taekyun, and that businessman Kim Hanjung paid the 21 million won bill on Oh’s behalf. Mayor Oh was sentenced to a fine of 10 million won and was ordered to forfeit 21 million won. Under political funds law, if a person is convicted of an offense resulting in a fine of 1 million won or more, they are barred from holding or being appointed to public office for five years, and if they are already in office, must resign from their post.

However, during the appeals process, the court accepted a recorded call between Kim and Myung as impeachment evidence intended to challenge the credibility of Myung's testimony. Impeachment evidence is submitted to dispute the credibility or probative value of specific statements made in court.

The transcript contains statements from Kim that could be interpreted as indicating he pursued the opinion polls independently of Mayor Oh. Kim is recorded saying, "I genuinely wanted to help this man, so I did the work," and, "It's not like anyone asked me to. I just did it myself." Myung is also heard saying, "Anyway, Oh Se-hoon doesn't know. He doesn't know, so don't worry. I'll take care of it," and, "Did I ever get a single 10-won coin from Oh Se-hoon?"

These remarks contradict the first trial's finding that Mayor Oh commissioned the polls and Kim paid for them. It is expected that Mayor Oh's legal team will argue in court that this recording demonstrates that Kim approached Myung to commission the opinion polls on his own initiative and covered the expenses independently, which is incompatible with the prosecution's claim that Oh commissioned the polls and arranged for Kim to pay.

On the other hand, Myung's side is expected to emphasize that this recording is not relevant to the charges. Myung's legal counsel maintains that interpreting the recording to mean Mayor Oh was unaware of the opinion poll or that Kim acted entirely independently is a "clear misreading." They explain that the conversation was not about whether to conduct primary-related polls at all, but rather a discussion about the concrete details and process of implementing the opposition unification strategy following Mayor Oh's selection as People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate and Ahn Cheol-soo’s candidacy at the time.

However, the court did not accept the special prosecutor’s objection that there was a high risk of forgery and manipulation. The court stated, "In criminal trials, impeachment evidence should be broadly admissible," and added, "Since there is no clear indication of illegal acquisition or fabrication at this point, the evidence will be admitted despite the special prosecutor's objection."

On this day, the court is expected to conclude the appeals arguments, including the special prosecutor's sentencing request and the defendant’s final statement, and also set the date for the verdict. The second trial verdict is likely to be delivered on the 23rd of this month.

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