Special Counsel Seeks 1-Year, 6-Month Prison Sentence for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in Appeal Trial Over Myung Tae-kyun Poll Fee Allegations

A prison sentence has been sought again in the appeal trial for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was indicted on allegations of having his opinion poll fees paid by Myung Tae-kyun.

During the final appeal hearing presided over by Presiding Judge Gu Hoe-geun of the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7 at 2:00 p.m. today (Oct. 2), the independent counsel team led by Min Joong-ki requested the court to "sentence [Defendant] Oh to one year and six months in prison and order the forfeiture of 33 million won."

Prison terms of one year were sought for each of the co-defendants: Kang Chul-won, former Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul and a close aide to Mayor Oh, and businessman Kim, a supporter.

These are identical to the sentencing recommendations made by the special counsel team during the first trial.

The special counsel team pointed out, "Defendant Oh Se-hoon, as an influential politician, is in a position to comply with the Political Funds Act more than anyone else," adding, "He had the opinion poll costs closely related to political activities paid by a third party without going through legitimate procedures."

The team further emphasized, "He undermined public trust in the legal order and, despite being the ultimate beneficiary of the crimes in question, has denied the charges and evaded responsibility throughout the investigation and trial process, making severe punishment inevitable."

Regarding former Deputy Mayor Kang Chul-won, the team explained, "As Oh Se-hoon's closest confidant and advisor, he was in a key position managing overall election campaigns yet handled critical communications for the execution of the crimes." For businessman Kim, the team stated, "He undermined the fairness of the political process by instead paying the opinion poll expenses that should have been borne by Oh Se-hoon's side."

Mayor Oh faces charges of receiving opinion poll results a total of 10 times from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election in 2021, and having businessman Kim, known as a long-time supporter, cover 33 million won in costs on his behalf.

Previously, the first-instance court recognized that Mayor Oh commissioned five opinion polls from Myung and had Kim pay 21 million won in costs on his behalf, sentencing Mayor Oh to a fine of 10 million won and ordering a forfeiture of 21 million won.

The outcome amounted to a sentence that would strip him of his mayoral office.

According to Article 57 of the Political Funds Act, if a person is sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for the offense of illegal receipt of political funds, they are barred from taking or being appointed to public office for five years after the sentence becomes final, and if already holding or appointed to such a position, they must step down.

In the first trial, former Deputy Mayor Kang was fined 3 million won, and businessman Kim was fined 5 million won.

Meanwhile, during today's final hearing, regarding the dispatch of prosecutors from the Investigation Office for Official Crimes to the special counsel team, the court requested, "Since it does not seem clearly stipulated by law, the Assistant Special Counsel should primarily handle the arguments."

This was based on the view that as the revised Criminal Procedure Act took effect today, changing the primary affiliation of dispatched prosecutors in the special counsel team from the Prosecutors' Office to the Investigation Office for Official Crimes, it remains uncertain whether existing dispatch orders remain valid.

The Assistant Special Counsel, not holding the status of a dispatched personnel, responded, "I will present the arguments directly as much as possible."

Earlier in the morning, Criminal Settlement Division 36 of the same court, which handles the trial regarding the allegations of illegal appropriation of the presidential residence relocation budget involving former Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min and others, also halted proceedings during a hearing held this morning, stating, "If it is concluded that a new dispatch order is required in the future, the [today's trial] procedures could become void."

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