Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Sentenced to Fine in 1st Trial Over Unpaid Opinion Poll Case

[Anchor]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who stood trial on charges of receiving opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun and having a supporter pay for them, has been fined 10 million won in the first trial. If this ruling is finalized, Mayor Oh will lose his mayoral position. The court pointed out that Mayor Oh, who has served as a lawmaker and mayor, "knew the Political Funds Act well yet failed to take responsibility during the trial." Mayor Oh stated that he cannot accept the verdict and will appeal.

Our first report comes from reporter Shin Yong-il.

[Reporter]

[Verdict: Defendant Oh Se-hoon is fined 10 million won.]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, indicted on charges of 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 mayoral post.

Previously, the Special Prosecutor team investigating Kim Keon-hee demanded 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 supporter, Kim Han-jung, cover the 33 million won cost.

In response, the first-instance court concluded that five of those polls were conducted at Mayor Oh's request and that the 21 million won survey cost was paid on his behalf by Kim, constituting an illegal political fund donation.

The alignment of the opinion polls with the timing of the deposits served as the basis for this conclusion.

The court further pointed out that Mayor Oh has consistently evaded responsibility.

[Cho Hyung-woo / Presiding Judge, Criminal Settlement Division 22, Seoul Central District Court: Despite having served as a lawmaker and Seoul mayor, and thus being well aware of the legislative purpose and contents of the Political Funds Act, he has maintained an attitude of failing to properly acknowledge his responsibility.]

With a heavy expression, Mayor Oh was unable to take his eyes off the bench for a while immediately after the ruling, and stated that he could not accept the verdict and would appeal.

[Oh Se-hoon / Seoul Mayor: Relying solely on the statements of the world's biggest liar Myung Tae-kyun and circumstantial evidence, with absolutely no direct evidence, based on inferences.]

Meanwhile, the special prosecutor team stated that it was a very meaningful ruling and that they would decide whether to appeal after analyzing the judgment.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News / Video reporting: Yang Hyun-chul, Video editing: Wee Won-yang, Design: Lee Ga-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.