Prosecution Office Asks Police to Reinvestigate 'Myung Tae-kyun Defamation' Case After Non-Referral Decision
The Prosecution Office has asked police to reinvestigate the case in which Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon filed a complaint against political broker Myung Tae-kyun on charges of defamation.
According to legal sources on Nov. 6, the Public Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecution Office, headed by Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-won, asked police on Oct. 28 to reinvestigate the case involving Myung on charges including defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.
Political fixer Myung Tae-gyun, who was sentenced to prison in the first trial on charges of providing free opinion polls to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and was later released on bail, speaks to reporters after being acquitted in the appellate court's ruling at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on October 7, 2026. Yonhap News
View original imageMayor Oh filed a complaint against Myung with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (now the Seoul Central District Prosecution Office) on Dec. 3, 2024, accusing Myung and others of spreading false information. The National Office of Investigation of the Korean National Police Agency, which took over the case, decided on July 29, 2026, not to refer it to prosecutors, saying it was difficult to establish the charges.
However, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7, which handled Mayor Oh's appeal (presiding judge Gu Hoe-geun), overturned the lower court's ruling and acquitted Myung on Oct. 23, saying his statements were difficult to believe at face value. The Prosecution Office reportedly determined that a police reinvestigation was necessary in light of the overturned ruling.
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Mayor Oh is accused of receiving poll results from Myung ahead of the April 7, 2021, Seoul mayoral by-election and having his supporter, Kim Han-jeong, pay for them on his behalf.
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