Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's Appeal Trial Over Myeong Tae-gyun Poll Fee Allegations Nears Conclusion Today

The appellate trial for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was indicted on allegations of having a third party pay his opinion poll fees related to Myeong Tae-gyun, wraps up today (October 2).

The 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Gu Hoe-geun) will hold the final sentencing hearing for Mayor Oh on charges of violating the Political Funds Act at 2 p.m. today.

The final hearing will sequentially feature closing arguments and sentencing recommendations from the special prosecutor team led by Min Joong-ki, followed by closing arguments and final statements from Mayor Oh's legal team.

Mayor Oh is accused of receiving opinion poll results a total of 10 times from political broker Myeong Tae-gyun ahead of the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election in 2021, and having businessman Kim Han-jung, known as a longtime supporter, pay 33 million won on his behalf.

The first trial sentenced Mayor Oh to a 10 million won fine—a penalty that would result in the loss of his mayoral office—and ordered the forfeiture of 21 million won.

According to Article 57 of the Political Funds Act, anyone sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for illicit acceptance of political funds is barred from running for or holding public office for five years after the sentence is finalized, and if already holding office, must step down.

In the previous appellate hearing, a recording file of Myeong stating in a March 2021 phone call with Kim that "Oh Se-hoon knows nothing" was adopted as impeachment evidence to dispute the credibility of Myeong's statements.

While Mayor Oh's side argues that these remarks support the claim that Kim commissioned the polls to Myeong on his own judgment independent of Mayor Oh, Myeong recently submitted a statement to the court refuting that the remarks meant Mayor Oh was entirely unaware of the polls' existence.
The appellate ruling for the third lawsuit filed by singer Steve Yoo (49, Korean name Yoo Seung-jun) regarding the issuance of his entry visa to South Korea will also be delivered today (October 2).

The 8-2 Administrative Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Bong-won, Lee Young-chang, and Choi Bong-hee) will hold the sentencing hearing for the lawsuit filed by Yoo against the Consul General of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles to cancel the refusal of visa issuance.

Yoo, who debuted in 1997, had promised on television to enlist in the military, but acquired U.S. citizenship in January 2002, thereby avoiding his military service obligations.

As public criticism against Yoo intensified, the Ministry of Justice restricted his entry into the country based on the Immigration Act.

In August 2015, after turning 38 years of age, Yoo applied to the LA Consulate General for an Overseas Korean (F-4) residency visa, but when it was rejected, he filed a lawsuit and ultimately won at the Supreme Court.

After the LA Consulate General rejected his visa application once more, Yoo filed a second lawsuit in 2020 and won again at the Supreme Court in 2023.

However, when the LA Consulate General refused visa issuance yet again in June 2024, Yoo filed a third lawsuit in September of that year.

The first trial of the third lawsuit also ruled in favor of Yoo in August of last year, stating that "the disadvantages inflicted on the plaintiff by the visa refusal heavily outweigh the public interest gained through it, thereby violating the principle of proportionality and constituting an abuse and misuse of discretionary power."

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