Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Acquitted in Appeal... "Myung Tae-kyun's Testimony Hard to Believe"

[Anchor]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been acquitted. Although he was sentenced in the first trial to a 10 million won fine—a penalty that would have stripped him of his mayoral position—on charges of having his opinion poll costs paid by someone else, the ruling was overturned to an acquittal in the second trial. The court ruled that it is difficult to believe the testimony of Myung Tae-kyun, the sole direct evidence. Consequently, the court stated that the charges against Mayor Oh were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

For our first news item, reporter Shin Yong-il has the details.

[Reporter]

[The guilty portion of the original ruling is overturned. The defendants are each acquitted.]

The appellate court has acquitted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was sentenced in the first trial to a 10 million won fine and an additional collection of 21 million won on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.

Previously, the first-trial court accepted parts of the special counsel's claims that ahead of the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election in 2021, Mayor Oh commissioned political broker Myung Tae-kyun to conduct 10 opinion polls and had his supporter, Kim Han-jung, pay the 33 million won cost on his behalf. The lower court had found him guilty of charges related to five of those polls and the 21 million won in covered costs.

However, the appellate court overturned the first-trial conclusion and rejected all of these points.

The court also acquitted Kang Chul-won, former Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul, and Kim Han-jung, who were indicted alongside Mayor Oh.

The appellate court noted that Myung Tae-kyun's testimony is the sole direct evidence regarding the core issue of this case. Unlike the first-trial court, which found parts of it credible, the appellate court concluded that the testimony is difficult to believe as it is.

[Goo Hoe-keun / Presiding Judge, Criminal Division 7, Seoul High Court: It is difficult to see that other evidence corroborating that testimony has been sufficiently presented. It is difficult to see that (the charged facts) have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.]

The sentence of a 100 million won [Note: referring to the threshold under the Public Official Election Act] or higher fine that would strip him of his mayoral post, handed down last July, was overturned in the second trial three months later. Mayor Oh, who stared rigidly at the bench throughout the ruling, left the courtroom with tears welling in his eyes right after the verdict.

[Oh Se-hoon / Seoul Mayor: Even while I was under suspicion, (there were many citizens) who did not withdraw their trust until the end and encouraged me with courage and hope.]

The special counsel stated that the ruling is hard to accept and that they will appeal to set it right.

(Photo: Yonhap News) (Video by: Kim Se-kyung, Video Editing by: Choi Hye-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.