Former People Power Party Chairperson Kim Chong-in said on the 11th at Mayor Oh Se-hoon's trial on charges of violating the Political Funds Act that he had never commissioned "political broker" Myung Tae-gyun to conduct a poll.
On this day, former Chairperson Kim appeared as a witness at the appeals hearing of Mayor Oh's Political Funds Act violation case, held before the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judge Koo Hoe-geun, Director General), and said this.
Former Chairperson Kim said former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun first introduced Myung to him and that he had heard Myung was "a person who conducts polls in the provinces."
He added, "Ahead of the election, it seems he came to see me through former lawmaker Kim, thinking he might try something from the center," and said, "(Myung) kept making exaggerated claims."
Former Chairperson Kim also said, "(At the time) he used me in a very deliberate way to get access to presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol."
Asked by the court whether Myung's statements could be trusted, he said, "I never trusted what that person said."
The issue at trial that day was whether former Chairperson Kim had commissioned Myung to conduct polling ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election. Mayor Oh's side argues that it was former Chairperson Kim who actually asked Myung to run the polls.
However, former Chairperson Kim argued that he had never instructed or asked Myung to conduct polls. He also said he had no idea whose polls Myung was conducting.
The special counsel team for Kim Keon-hee asked former Chairperson Kim why he continued to meet with Myung "even though you thought he was untrustworthy." Former Chairperson Kim replied, "Looking back at his behavior later, it was because he lied, but until then there was no need to think he was such a bad person."
The court decided to resume the trial on the 16th.
Mayor Oh was indicted without detention in Dec. last year on charges that, ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, he received polling results from Myung 10 times and had businessman Kim Han-jung pay the 33 million won expense on his behalf.
In the first trial, the court found that for five of those polls, Mayor Oh commissioned Myung and Kim paid the expense on his behalf, and fined him 10 million won. If the sentence is finalized, Mayor Oh will lose his office. If a fine of 1 million won or more is finalized for unlawful receipt of political funds, the person cannot assume or be appointed to public office for five years. If already inaugurated or appointed, the person must step down.