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Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was indicted on charges of receiving opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun and having a supporter pay for the costs on his behalf, has been sentenced to a fine of 10 million won in the first trial. If this ruling is finalized, Mayor Oh will lose his mayoral seat. The court pointed out that Mayor Oh, who has served as a lawmaker and a mayor, "knew the Political Funds Act well yet failed to acknowledge his responsibility in the trial." Mayor Oh stated that the ruling is unacceptable and that he will appeal.
The first report comes from reporter Shin Yong-il.
[Verdict: Defendant Oh Se-hoon is fined 10 million won.]
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was put on trial for violating the Political Funds Act, has been found guilty.
The court sentenced Mayor Oh to a fine of 10 million won and an additional collection of 21 million won.
Under the Public Official Election Act, if a fine of 1 million won or more is finalized, Mayor Oh will lose his position.
Previously, the Special Counsel for Kim Keon-hee sought a prison sentence of one year and six months for Mayor Oh, stating that ahead of the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election in 2021, Mayor Oh commissioned 10 opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun and had a businessman and supporter, Kim Han-jung, cover the 33 million won cost.
In response, the first-instance court concluded that 5 of these polls were conducted at Mayor Oh's request, and that the 21 million won poll cost was covered by Kim, constituting illegal political fund donations.
The court based its decision on facts such as the matching timelines of the opinion polls and the deposit dates.
The court also pointed out that Mayor Oh consistently evaded responsibility.
[Cho Hyung-woo / Presiding Judge, Criminal Settlement Division 22, Seoul Central District Court: Although he served as a member of the National Assembly and Seoul Mayor, and was well aware of the legislative purpose and content of the Political Funds Act, he consistently maintained an attitude of failing to properly acknowledge his responsibility.]
Immediately after the sentencing, Mayor Oh kept a heavy expression and stared blankly toward the bench for a while, announcing that he could not accept the verdict and would appeal.
[Oh Se-hoon / Seoul Mayor: Based solely on the statements of that supreme liar Myung Tae-kyun and indirect evidence, with absolutely no direct evidence, they are operating on deductions.]
On the other hand, the special counsel team stated that it was a very meaningful ruling and that they would decide whether to appeal after analyzing the judgment.
(Video reporting: Yang Hyun-chul, Video editing: Wee Won-yang, Design: Lee Ga-jin)
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Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has maintained his innocence, claiming that the special counsel conducted a "political investigation" without any direct evidence. However, the court today (July 22) ruled that sufficient circumstances are recognized showing that Mayor Oh commissioned the opinion polls and had the costs covered by another.
Reporter Chang Hoon-kyung reports on the reasons behind the court's decision.
Throughout the investigation and the trial period, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon steadfastly emphasized that he never commissioned opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun nor had anyone else cover the costs.
[Oh Se-hoon / Seoul Mayor (last March): These people are a fraudulent criminal group. Myung Tae-kyun is a recruiter or operative scouting targets for fraud...]
However, the court judged that Mayor Oh, who was facing a party primary at the time, had sufficient motive to commission opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun.
The court noted that opinion poll results showing his primary rival, Na Kyung-won, ahead were being published, and because a bonus for female candidates was also in place for the main primary, Mayor Oh had incentives to promote public support as his own strength.
[Cho Hyung-woo / Presiding Judge, Criminal Settlement Division 22, Seoul Central District Court: His political standing was somewhat contracted. Since it was decided that the main primary would be conducted 100% through general public opinion polls, he must have strongly felt the necessity of opinion polls for public announcement as well.]
The court also cited several factors as grounds for a guilty verdict: Mayor Oh first contacted Myung, listened to explanations regarding election strategies, Myung was unable to conduct polls for a month due to cost issues but performed polls two days after meeting Mayor Oh, and supporter Kim Han-jung transferred a large sum of money despite having virtually no personal ties to Myung.
[Cho Hyung-woo / Presiding Judge, Criminal Settlement Division 22, Seoul Central District Court: Regarding the 5 opinion polls, the fact that they were commissioned and the costs were covered on his behalf are both recognized.]
The court also noted that when unfavorable opinion polls came out, Mayor Oh's side and Myung had a major dispute, while concluding that the other 5 opinion polls could not be definitively deemed as commissioned by Mayor Oh.
At the same time, the court pointed out regarding Mayor Oh that "the nature of the crime is poor, as he covertly concealed the act of commissioning opinion polls and the process of paying the costs."
[Cho Hyung-woo / Presiding Judge, Criminal Settlement Division 22, Seoul Central District Court: For the defendant, sentencing him to a loss of public office qualifications corresponding to his criminal responsibility is inevitable.]
The court stated, however, that it reflected in sentencing the fact that the offense took place during a party primary for the Seoul mayoral candidacy and that Mayor Oh did not continue his relationship with Myung afterward.
(Video editing: Kim Jong-tae)
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Legal affairs specialist reporter Lim Chan-jong is with us.
Q. Why are the verdicts for the 'Myung Tae-kyun scandal' involving Oh Se-hoon, Kim Keon-hee, and Yoon Suk Yeol different?
[Lim Chan-jong / Legal Affairs Specialist Reporter: The most crucial reason is that judgments differed regarding who commissioned the opinion polls. For a politician receiving free opinion polls to constitute a violation of the Political Funds Act, it must be proven that the provided opinion polls were commissioned by that specific politician. This is because if opinion polls are provided even though they were never desired, the recipient politician cannot be deemed to have obtained property benefits. In this regard, the first trial of Seoul Mayor Oh's case concluded that Mayor Oh commissioned opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun five times, leading to a guilty verdict today (July 22). Conversely, in the first and second trials of Kim Keon-hee's case, it was judged that Kim and former President Yoon did not commission the opinion polls, resulting in an acquittal. Meanwhile, in a separately conducted first-instance trial for former President Yoon, a guilty verdict was handed down on the grounds that there was a 'consensus' regarding opinion polls between Myung and former President Yoon's side.]
Q. The Supreme Court ruling for Kim Keon-hee is the day after tomorrow... Will it impact the trials of Oh Se-hoon and Yoon Suk Yeol?
[Lim Chan-jong / Legal Affairs Specialist Reporter: The Supreme Court ruling on Kim Keon-hee scheduled for the day after tomorrow will directly impact former President Yoon Suk Yeol's trial. This is because Kim Keon-hee and former President Yoon were indicted as accomplices, meaning the trials were only separated while being virtually the same case. The problem is that the first and second-instance rulings on Kim Keon-hee contradict the first-instance ruling on former President Yoon. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruling on Kim Keon-hee to be delivered the day after tomorrow is expected to resolve this contradiction by serving as a benchmark for former President Yoon's second trial. On the other hand, while Mayor Oh's case shares the aspect of receiving opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun with the case of former President Yoon's couple, it is a separate case with different specific facts and circumstances, so the Supreme Court ruling in Kim Keon-hee's case is not expected to apply directly as a standard here.]
Q. When will the final verdict for the 'Oh Se-hoon case' be finalized?
[Lim Chan-jong / Legal Affairs Specialist Reporter: According to the Special Counsel Act, the second trial must finish within 3 months, and the Supreme Court must also conclude its trial within 3 months. Therefore, the second trial must end within October of this year, and if the second trial uses up the full 3 months, the Supreme Court must issue a ruling within January of next year. However, if the Supreme Court overturns the second-instance ruling, a remand trial will proceed again, meaning the final confirmation of the verdict could be delayed further beyond this timeline.]
(Video editing: Wee Won-yang)
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