[Anchor]
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been acquitted. In the first trial, he was sentenced to a fine of 10 million won for allegedly having opinion poll costs paid on his behalf—a sentence that would result in the loss of his mayoral post—but the verdict was overturned on appeal to not guilty. The appellate court determined that the testimony of Myung Tae-kyun, the sole direct evidence in the case, was difficult to believe. Consequently, the court stated that the charges against Mayor Oh were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Reporter Shin Yong-il has our first report.
[Reporter Shin Yong-il]
[The guilty portion of the original judgment is quashed. The defendants are each found not guilty.]
An appellate court has acquitted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was previously sentenced in his first trial to a fine of 10 million won and a forfeiture of 21 million won on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.
Earlier, the first-instance court found him guilty of commissioning 5 opinion polls and having 21 million won in costs paid on his behalf, out of the special counsel's allegations that Mayor Oh had commissioned 10 opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and had sponsor Kim Han-jeong pay the 33 million won cost on his behalf.
However, the appellate court overturned the first trial's conclusion and rejected all of these allegations.
Former Seoul Vice Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Chul-won and sponsor Kim Han-jeong, who were indicted alongside Mayor Oh, were also acquitted.
The appellate court concluded that Myung Tae-kyun's statements were the only direct evidence regarding the key issues in this case, and unlike the first trial court, which viewed them as partially credible, ruled that they could not be taken at face value.
[Koo Hoe-geun / Presiding Judge, 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court: It is difficult to conclude that sufficient other evidence corroborating those statements has been presented. It is difficult to see that the charges have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.]
The ruling—which, with a fine of 1 million won or more under election law, would strip him of his mayoral seat—was overturned on appeal after three months. Mayor Oh, who stared at the bench with a stiff expression throughout the sentencing, left the courtroom with teary eyes immediately after the verdict was delivered.
[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul: Even while I was under suspicion, there were many citizens who never withdrew their trust until the end and gave me courage and hope.]
The special counsel team stated that the verdict is difficult to accept and announced it will appeal to the Supreme Court to correct it.
(Video by Kim Se-gyeong | Video Editing by Choi Hye-young)
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[Anchor]
Myung Tae-kyun's "mouth," which had led to Mayor Oh Se-hoon's conviction in the first trial, served in the second trial as key grounds for bringing about the exact opposite outcome. The court ruled that it could not recognize the credibility of Myung's testimony, citing factors such as his lingering resentment toward Mayor Oh for not having his contributions recognized.
Reporter Kim Deok-hyeon follows up.
[Reporter Kim Deok-hyeon]
Regarding the allegations of "third-party payment for opinion poll costs," Myung Tae-kyun had persistently claimed that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was the very person who commissioned the polls.
[Myung Tae-kyun / (April of last year): I came all the way from Changwon to Seoul to catch Oh Se-hoon.]
[Myung Tae-kyun / (November of last year): Someone must have given instructions, and someone must have connected them. That person is Oh Se-hoon.]
Myung's statements and courtroom testimony were the only direct evidence as to whether Mayor Oh actually commissioned the opinion polls and whether he instructed a sponsor to cover the expenses, but the appellate court ruled that they lacked credibility.
The court determined that Myung's testimony lacked consistency and conflicted with objective circumstances and testimonies from people around him.
The court refused to accept from the outset Myung's claim that Mayor Oh "cried while calling him" when initially commissioning the opinion polls.
[Koo Hoe-geun / Presiding Judge, 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court: Commissioning an opinion poll while crying and mentioning the issue of illegal cost-bearing to Myung Tae-kyun without having any prior information is difficult to accept according to common sense...]
The court also took into consideration that Myung, who initially did not make statements regarding Mayor Oh's alleged involvement, publicly stated to "watch how I tie him in" once Mayor Oh showed an intention to file a complaint.
The court also pointed out that it defies common sense for Mayor Oh to directly and openly request illegal expense coverage from a sponsor and for this process to be carried out via bank transfer.
The court noted that suspicions also arise that Myung conducted opinion polls on his own without a request from Mayor Oh in an attempt to show off his political prowess to the People Power Party leadership at the time.
The court concluded that while there are suspicions of guilt, such as Myung meeting Mayor Oh and poll results being shared, if the charges are not sufficiently proven, the judgment must be made in favor of the defendant.
(Video by Kim Se-gyeong | Video Editing by Lee Hong-myeong | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung)
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[Anchor]
This case over allegations of third-party payment for opinion poll costs began in 2024 with revelations by political broker Myung Tae-kyun. Mayor Oh Se-hoon denied the claims as groundless, but the matter escalated into investigations by the prosecution and a special counsel, leading to a legal battle.
Reporter Jeon Yeon-nam looks back at how the appellate acquittal came about, two years after Myung's revelations.
[Reporter Jeon Yeon-nam]
In October 2024, Myung Tae-kyun claimed that he provided great assistance to candidate Oh Se-hoon's election during the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election.
He claimed that Mayor Oh approached him saying he needed opinion polls to defeat candidate Na Kyung-won at the time, and had a sponsor pay for the polling costs on his behalf.
Mayor Oh completely denied the allegations, calling them "groundless nonsense," but a prosecution investigation was launched.
[Myung Tae-kyun / (April of last year): (Did you ever report the opinion poll results directly to Mayor Oh Se-hoon?) Of course.]
The special counsel team investigating First Lady Kim Keon-hee, which took over the case in November of last year, even conducted cross-examinations between Mayor Oh and Myung.
[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul (November of last year): As I have consistently said, there was no proxy payment. I focused on this point. Neither side narrowed the gap in their claims.]
The special counsel team subsequently brought Mayor Oh to trial, and the first-instance court found parts of the indictment guilty, sentencing Mayor Oh to a fine of 10 million won.
Mayor Oh's side, facing the loss of his mayoral post if the sentence were finalized, immediately appealed. Today (October 23), three months after the first-instance verdict, the appellate court acquitted him, stating that the allegations regarding the opinion polls and proxy payments were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul: I truly, sincerely thank the citizens of Seoul who voted for me so that Oh Se-hoon could work as the Mayor of Seoul once again.]
Immediately after the verdict, the Seoul Metropolitan Government issued a statement saying it would push forward even more vigorously with Mayor Oh's key policies for the 9th popularly elected term.
(Video by Yang Hyun-chul | Video Editing by Lee So-young)
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[Anchor]
We now examine the political reactions and repercussions of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's appellate acquittal with Reporter Ko Jeong-hyeon.
Q. What are the official stances of the ruling and opposition camps?
[Reporter Ko Jeong-hyeon: That is correct. The broader ruling bloc called the ruling one that defies common sense, while the conservative opposition called it a case of justice prevailing. Let's listen.]
[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leader: A ruling has been delivered that is difficult to understand and accept, both legally and in terms of common sense. I believe public suspicion will have grown considerably.]
[Jeong Jeom-sig / People Power Party Floor Leader: We pay our respects to the court, which defended justice and conscience strictly in accordance with legal principles and evidence, even amidst a climate of intimidating the court and pressuring it for a guilty verdict.]
[Reporter Ko Jeong-hyeon: The broader ruling bloc is pointing out that the bench that handed down today's (October 23) acquittal is the same one that acquitted former President Yoon Suk-yeol on appeal in his Myung Tae-kyun opinion poll case. They also targeted Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, saying, "There is now one more reason to impeach Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae," and calling it "the Cho Hee-dae judiciary's declaration of far-right politics." On the other hand, the conservative opposition sharpened its criticism against Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok, who had taken a Seoul mayoral by-election for granted, and National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Seo Young-kyo, a Democratic Party lawmaker who called yesterday (October 22) for a prison sentence. Criticisms continued, such as, "The Democratic Party, which agitated the public and caused anxiety, must reflect and apologize," and "It is a relief that the court did not yield to blatant pressure from Democratic Party politicians."]
Q. Will there be shifts within the conservative opposition?
[Reporter Ko Jeong-hyeon: About ten People Power Party lawmakers also attended the Seoul High Court, where the appellate ruling took place today. Lawmaker Kim Jae-seob wrote on social media about a "moment of the stars," signifying a fateful, decisive event. A final judicial conclusion has not yet been reached because the Supreme Court ruling remains. However, political analysts and observers forecast that by relieving himself of this judicial risk burden for now, Mayor Oh Se-hoon's stature as a prospective presidential contender will rise, and he will be able to seize more leadership within the conservative opposition. There are also analyses that he could become a focal point in checking the People Power Party's mainstream faction led by Representative Jang Dong-hyeok. Non-mainstream lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin directly criticized the leadership, saying that the party leadership, which caused confusion over which party it represented by calling for a Seoul mayoral by-election, should consider this fortunate and feel grateful.]
Q. Are there subtle reactions within the broader ruling bloc as well?
[Reporter Ko Jeong-hyeon: That is correct. Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok previously stated that if a Seoul mayoral by-election were held, he would seek a vote of confidence on his leadership based on the outcome. However, due to recent Seoul real estate issues and sluggish party approval ratings, concerns had been raised within the party that even if a Seoul mayoral by-election were held next year, victory could not be guaranteed under current circumstances, and a defeat could adversely affect the 2028 general elections. For this reason, some voices from within are saying that "to be honest, the burden on the party has been lessened." Nonetheless, with the Supreme Court ruling on Mayor Oh still pending, arguments are also emerging within the party that they must use the issue of judicial reform to further rally their support base, seek a rebound in approval ratings, and prepare for what lies ahead.]
(Video Editing by Park Seon-soo | Graphics by Park Cheon-woong, Kim Han-gil)
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