A special counsel sought a 1-year, 6-month prison term for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who is accused of receiving poll results from political fixer Myung Tae-gyun and having a sponsor cover the expense through a proxy.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo) held a closing hearing on charges of violating the Political Funds Act against Mayor Oh, former Seoul Vice Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Cheol-won, and sponsor Kim Han-jung.
The Kim Keon-hee special counsel team (Special Counsel Min Joong-ki) asked the court to sentence the mayor to 1 year and 6 months in prison and impose a forfeiture of 33 million won. For Kang, the former vice mayor indicted on the same charge, and sponsor Kim, prosecutors sought one year in prison each.
The special counsel said, "Defendant Oh Se-hoon, as a prominent politician, was more obligated than anyone to comply with the Political Funds Act, yet had a third party cover the expense of polling closely related to political activities, undermining the legislative purpose of transparency in political funds," adding, "Given the efforts to evade responsibility during the investigation and trial, stern punishment is unavoidable."
The special counsel believes that ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, the mayor received polling results from Myung a total of 10 times and, through then–chief of staff Kang, had sponsor Kim cover an expense of 33 million won.
By contrast, the mayor's attorney said, "The substance of this case is Myung's fraud and extortion," arguing that a not-guilty verdict should be rendered. The attorney said, "The mayor never commissioned Myung to conduct polls, and there was no reason or instance of having anyone cover the polling expense," adding, "No one can tell which parts of Myung's statements are true or false, and the special counsel's indictment, extracted in parts, is a cut-and-paste indictment."
In his final statement, the mayor said, "I want to define this case as one indicted by a special counsel of the Democratic Party, by the Democratic Party, and for the Democratic Party," adding, "After filing a complaint against Myung in 2024, I urged a swift investigation because the likelihood of political abuse was high, but prosecutors kept dragging their feet."
The mayor went on to say, "President Lee Jae-myung faces many criminal allegations, and if he fails to win a new mandate, his retirement will be a nightmare," adding, "They must have wanted somehow to destroy the political life of their biggest headache, Oh Se-hoon, and there's no way the politically astute prosecution didn't know that." He continued, "The timid prosecution, watching the winds, passed this case to the special counsel in an unfinished state, and Special Counsel Min Joong-ki, as if waiting, indicted it timed to the local elections."
In particular, the mayor took issue with the special counsel's failure to present direct evidence. The mayor said, "The special counsel presented numerous circumstantial and indirect pieces of evidence but failed to find a single piece of direct evidence, including recordings," adding, "What is there besides hearing Myung's statements?" He repeatedly asked the special counsel, "Are you aboveboard?" and was admonished by the court.
The court plans to issue the verdict at 2 p.m. on the 22nd of next month. Under the Public Official Election Act, if the mayor is finally convicted of violating the Political Funds Act and fined 1 million won or more, the office will be forfeited.