Oh Se-hoon's Side Claims Myung Tae-kyun's Testimony Is 'Fabricated,' Accuses Special Counsel and Democratic Party of Pressuring Court for Guilty Verdict

The side of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has claimed that the special counsel team and the Democratic Party of Korea are pressuring the court ahead of the sentencing in the case involving allegations that opinion poll costs were paid by a third party on his behalf, known as the 'Myung Tae-kyun opinion poll payment allegation.'

Mayor Oh was indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act for allegedly receiving opinion poll results from Myung Tae-kyun on 10 occasions ahead of the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election in 2021 and having a supporter pay 33 million won in costs on his behalf. He is awaiting the first-instance verdict scheduled for July 22.

Lee Jong-hyun, Special Advisor for Public Relations at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, issued a statement today (July 20), stating, "Just days before the sentencing hearing, the special counsel, which has become political, suddenly distributed an opinion document submitted to the court to the media, and now the leadership of the Democratic Party is stepping in to force a forced guilty verdict." He defined this as "a malicious public opinion operation that directly infringes on the independence of the judiciary and an attempt to shake the court."

The special advisor argued that the special counsel and the Democratic Party are colluding, showing no interest in uncovering the truth and being obsessed only with political smear campaigns and pressuring the judiciary. He added, "As evidence of innocence is being revealed one after another, they are attempting a trial by public opinion just before the ruling."

Mayor Oh's side cited remarks by Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do, who said, "We will watch the sentencing process," and Seo Young-kyo, a Democratic Party lawmaker and chair of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, who made comments such as, "The mayoral position will be lost," and "Sentence the maximum penalty allowed by law." They criticized these actions as "a 'rain-making ritual-style political maneuver' that forces a guilty verdict upon the judiciary right before the ruling, and an abuse of legislative power."

Mayor Oh's side emphasized that the credibility of Myung Tae-kyun's testimony collapsed during the trial process.

Special Advisor Lee claimed that while Myung testified that he was commissioned by Mayor Oh to conduct an opinion poll on January 22, 2021, digital forensics confirmed that the questionnaire was actually written and transmitted about an hour before that time.

He added that KakaoTalk conversations between relevant parties at the time recorded the Seoul regional survey as being "commissioned by Kim Chong-in," and circumstances were also confirmed where Myung and the individual suspected of paying the costs discussed the transaction separately from Mayor Oh's campaign.

They also took issue with the special counsel's calculation of the indicted amount.

Mayor Oh's side criticized the special counsel, stating that they indicted him by arbitrarily setting the amount at 33 million won without any basis, despite the fact that the opinion poll costs would amount to 65 million won if calculated based on the unit price claimed by Myung. They argued, "The special counsel's calculation of the indicted amount is full of contradictions and does not make sense."

Furthermore, they added, "The Mayor Oh campaign has never once reviewed or used the distorted opinion poll results from Myung Tae-kyun in its election strategy."

Mayor Oh's side stated, "We have clearly proven the truth of his innocence in court through objective facts and digital forensic evidence," adding, "Mayor Oh will calmly await a wise and fair judgment from the court based solely on law and principles."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.