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

[Anchor]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was sentenced in the first trial to a penalty that would strip him of his mayoral position for allegedly having his opinion poll costs paid by someone else, has been acquitted in his second trial. The court ruled that the testimony of Myung Tae-kyun—which served as the sole direct evidence regarding the core issue and the basis for the guilty verdict in the first trial—is difficult to believe as it is.

Here is a report by reporter Shin Yong-il.

[Reporter]

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

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

Previously, the first-trial court accepted part 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 a supporter, Kim Han-jung, pay the 33 million won cost on his behalf. Specifically, it found him guilty of charges involving five of those opinion polls and the proxy payment of 21 million won.

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

Acquittals were also handed down to former Seoul Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Chul-won and Kim Han-jung, who were indicted along with Mayor Oh.

The appellate court concluded that Myung Tae-kyun's testimony is the sole direct evidence concerning the core issues of this case, and unlike the first-trial court which deemed parts of it credible, it is difficult to believe his statements as they are.

[Goo Hoe-geun / Presiding Judge, Criminal Division 7, Seoul High Court: It is difficult to view that other evidence reinforcing that testimony has been sufficiently presented. It is difficult to view that the (indictment charges) have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.]

The sentence of a fine of 1 million won or more under the Public Official Election Act—which would have stripped him of his mayoral seat and was handed down in July—was overturned in the second trial three months later. Mayor Oh, who had stared intently at the court with a stiff expression throughout the ruling, left the courtroom with red eyes immediately after the sentencing.

[Oh Se-hoon / Seoul Mayor (Yesterday): 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 announced plans to appeal to set the matter right.

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