Oh Sehoon’s appeal verdict, with “mayoral post and presidential bid” at stake... Can new recording overturn first-trial ruling?

Ruling on Political Funds Act violation set for 2 p.m. on October 23
First-trial sentence threatens Oh’s mayoral post; special prosecutors sought 18 months in prison
New recordings could prove pivotal; court admits them as evidence challenging t

The appellate court will deliver its ruling on the case against Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on the 23rd. Oh was sentenced in the first trial to a penalty that could cost him his mayoral office over the so-called “alleged payment of opinion poll expenses on behalf of Oh by Myung Tae-kyun.” The first-instance court fined Oh 10 million won. If he receives a final sentence of a fine of 1 million won or more for violating the Political Funds Act, Oh will lose his mayoral office and be barred from running in the next presidential election.

The Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 7, presided over by Judge Gu Hoe-geun, will hold a sentencing hearing in Oh’s case on charges of violating the Political Funds Act at 2 p.m. that day.

Yonhap News Agency

On the 20th, the court decided to broadcast Oh’s appellate sentencing hearing live. Courts have allowed live broadcasts of sentencing hearings in some cases that attract significant public interest, taking the public interest into account.

Oh was indicted in December last year on charges that, ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, he received opinion poll results from political broker Myung Tae-kyun a total of 10 times (three published and seven unpublished), and arranged for his then-chief secretary, former Seoul Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Cheol-won, to have supporter and businessman Kim Han-jeong pay approximately 33 million won in costs on his behalf.

Of the 10 opinion polls included in the indictment, the first-instance court found that Oh’s side had commissioned five polls and that Kim had paid 21 million won in costs on Oh’s behalf. It found that neither the commission nor the payment of expenses had been proven for the remaining polls.

The court therefore fined Oh 10 million won and ordered him to pay an additional 21 million won. Under Article 57 of the Political Funds Act, anyone sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for illegally receiving political funds may not assume or be appointed to public office for five years after the sentence becomes final. Those already in office must leave their posts.

At the closing hearing in the second trial, the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki sought a sentence of one year and six months in prison and an additional 33 million won from Oh. In his final statement, Oh maintained his innocence, saying, “The claim that I asked someone described as a supporter to pay the costs on my behalf is completely incompatible with my political convictions.”

A key question in the appeal is how the court will assess newly obtained call recordings between Kim and Myung, who have been identified as the parties involved in the alleged payment. The court allowed the recordings to be submitted as reference material after considering their authenticity and integrity, and then admitted them as impeachment evidence to challenge the credibility of Myung’s testimony. In the recordings, Myung says, “Oh Se-hoon doesn’t know. He doesn’t know, so don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” but also says, “The mayor handled it discreetly, and this must not become public.”

Oh’s side argues that these remarks support its claim that Kim commissioned the polls from Myung on his own, without Oh’s involvement. Its position is that Oh did not know the details of how the polls were conducted. The special counsel team, however, questioned the credibility of the evidence, saying that only selected portions of the full recordings had been submitted.

The Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 7, which is hearing Oh’s case, is also the panel that acquitted former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon was indicted on charges of receiving free opinion polls from Myung, but was acquitted on appeal on October 7. First- and second-instance courts also acquitted First Lady Kim Keon Hee of the same charges.

Some legal experts, however, say that Yoon’s case differs structurally from Oh’s, as it involved allegations that he received free opinion polls in collusion with Kim.

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