First Appeal Trial Held for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Over 'Myung Tae-gyun Allegations'... Appeal Trial for Yoon Suk Yeol Also Begins

[Anchor]

The first appeal trial for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was sentenced in the first trial to a penalty that would strip him of his mayoral position in connection with allegations that political broker Myung Tae-gyun paid for his opinion polls, was held today (the 21st).

Reporter Jung Hye-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

The 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court held the first appeal trial today for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who faces charges of violating the Political Funds Act regarding the proxy payment of opinion poll costs by Myung Tae-gyun.

[Oh Se-hoon / Seoul Mayor (This afternoon): We will surely reveal the substantive truth and prove my innocence.]

Mayor Oh was indicted without detention last December on charges of receiving opinion poll results 10 times from Myung ahead of the April 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and having a supporter, businessman Kim Han-jung, pay 33 million won on his behalf.

During the first trial last month, Mayor Oh was sentenced to a 10 million won fine—a penalty severe enough to strip him of his mayoral post—along with a forfeiture of 21 million won.

The first-instance court ruled that Mayor Oh directly commissioned 5 out of the 10 opinion polls to Myung and had businessman Kim pay 21 million won in related costs on his behalf.

Ahead of the second trial, Mayor Oh's legal team has reportedly significantly reinforced its ranks and drastically revised its trial strategy.

Mayor Oh's side plans to focus on proving that the core essence of this case—the "proxy payment for opinion polls"—did not occur during the appeal trial.

Mayor Oh's legal counsel emphasized in their appellate brief that the first-instance court handed down a guilty verdict despite a lack of tangible evidence showing Mayor Oh directly commissioned the opinion polls.

In response, the special counsel team has fired back with its own appellate brief, arguing that Mayor Oh violated the "Oh Se-hoon Act"—legislation that he himself spearheaded in the past to enhance transparency in election culture.

Meanwhile, prior to Mayor Oh's first appeal hearing earlier today, the appellate court also held the first appeal trial for former President Yoon Suk Yeol regarding the "Myung Tae-gyun opinion polls."

(Video Editing: Shin Se-eun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.