▲ Democratic Party of Korea's Special Committee on Countering False and Manipulated Information
The Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) Special Committee on Countering False and Manipulated Information announced today (July 27) that it has filed a complaint against Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was recently sentenced to a fine that could strip him of his public office in the first-instance trial regarding the so-called "Myung Tae-gyun opinion poll cost-covering suspicion," on charges of publishing false information under the Public Official Election Act.
During a press conference at the National Assembly today, the special committee claimed, "Mayor Oh's lies throughout the election period were a means to cover up ugly crimes."
The committee criticized, "The truth recognized by the court is the exact opposite of Mayor Oh's explanation," adding, "It was a thoroughly planned hoax perpetrated against the 10 million citizens of Seoul, ranging from the parliamentary audit to terrestrial live-broadcast debates, all for the single purpose of winning the election."
It continued, "In this Seoul mayoral election, the vote margin between (People Power Party) candidate Oh Se-hoon and (Democratic Party) candidate Jung Won-oh was a mere 60,259 votes," emphasizing that "no one can deny that a leading candidate's publication of false information had a massive impact on the razor-thin election results."
The committee further added, "If Mayor Oh is stripped of his position, both the 2021 campaign expense reimbursement he unjustly pocketed by thoroughly deceiving the citizens and the reimbursement from this election must be returned to the citizens down to the very last won, even through forced collection if necessary."
Previously on the 22nd, the 22nd Criminal Settlement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo) sentenced Mayor Oh, who was indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, to a fine of 10 million won and an additional collection of 21 million won.
Mayor Oh faces charges of receiving opinion poll results from political broker Myung Tae-gyun and having a sponsor pay the costs on his behalf.
If a fine of 1 million won or more is finalized against Mayor Oh, a by-election for the Seoul mayoral post will be held.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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