Claiming "Political Investigation," But Court Finds "Sufficient Motive for Commission and Proxy Payment"

[Anchor]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has maintained his innocence, claiming that the special counsel conducted a "political investigation" without any direct evidence. However, today (July 22), the court ruled that there is sufficient recognition of circumstances indicating Mayor Oh commissioned public opinion polls and had someone else pay the costs.

Reporter Jang Hun-gyeong has the details on the court's reasoning.

[Reporter]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has consistently emphasized throughout the investigation and trial that he never commissioned public opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun or had anyone pay the costs on his behalf.

[Oh Se-hoon / Seoul Mayor (last March): These people are a fraudulent criminal group. Myung Tae-kyun is a recruiter or operative who searches for targets of fraud....]

However, the court determined that Mayor Oh, who was facing a party primary at the time, had a sufficient and recognizable motive to commission polls from Myung.

Noting that poll results showing rival candidate Na Kyung-won ahead were being published and that there was a bonus point system for female candidates in the main primary, the court reasoned that Mayor Oh had an incentive to highlight public support as his strength.

[Cho Hyung-woo / Presiding Judge, Criminal Settlement Division 22, Seoul Central District Court: His political standing was somewhat constrained. Since the main primary was decided to be conducted 100% through general public opinion polls, he would have strongly felt the need for polls intended for public release as well....]

The court also cited several factors as grounds for a guilty verdict: Mayor Oh first contacted Myung to listen to explanations on election strategies; Myung, who had been unable to conduct polls for a month due to cost issues, carried out a poll two days after meeting with Mayor Oh; and Kim Han-jung, a supporter, transferred a large sum of money to Myung despite having almost no personal acquaintance with him.

[Cho Hyung-woo / Presiding Judge, Criminal Settlement Division 22, Seoul Central District Court: Regarding the (five) public opinion polls, the facts of commissioning and proxy payment are acknowledged.]

The court also highlighted that Mayor Oh's side and Myung had a major dispute when unfavorable poll results came out, though it concluded that another five instances of polling could not be definitively judged as commissioned by Mayor Oh.

At the same time, the court pointed out regarding Mayor Oh that "the nature of the crime is grave, as he covertly concealed the act of commissioning polls and the process of paying the costs."

[Cho Hyung-woo / Presiding Judge, Criminal Settlement Division 22, Seoul Central District Court: For the defendant, sentencing to a punishment resulting in the loss of eligibility for public office corresponding to his criminal responsibility is inevitable.]

However, the court stated it reflected in the sentencing that the crime in this case took place during the party primary process for the Seoul mayoral candidate and that Mayor Oh did not continue his relationship with Myung afterward.

[Video Editing: Kim Jong-tae]
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.