[Anchor]

The controversy surrounding the alleged surrogate payment for opinion polls began in 2024 with disclosures by political broker Myung Tae-gyun. While Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon dismissed the claims as absurd, the allegations escalated into investigations by prosecutors and an independent counsel, ultimately leading to a legal battle.

Reporter Jeon Yeonnam traces the timeline from Myung's initial revelations to today's acquittal on appeal, exactly two years later.

[Reporter]

In October 2024, Myung Tae-gyun claimed that he played a significant role in helping Oh Se-hoon win the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election.

Myung alleged that Oh approached him because he needed an opinion poll that could defeat then-candidate Na Kyung-won, and that Oh had a financial supporter cover the cost of the polls instead.

Oh flatly denied the allegations, calling them "absurd," but prosecutors launched an investigation.

[Myung Tae-gyun (April of last year): (Did you ever report the opinion poll results directly to Mayor Oh Se-hoon?) Of course.]

Taking over the case in November of last year, the independent counsel team investigating Kim Keon-hee even conducted a face-to-face interrogation between Mayor Oh and Myung.

[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul (November of last year): I focused on stating what I have maintained all along—that there was no surrogate payment. The positions of both sides have not narrowed.]

The independent counsel team subsequently indicted Mayor Oh, but the first-instance court found him partially guilty on the charges and sentenced him to a 10 million won fine.

Facing the loss of his mayoral seat if the sentence were finalized, Oh's legal team immediately appealed. Today (the 23rd), three months after the first-instance ruling, the appellate court acquitted Oh, stating that the allegations regarding the opinion polls and surrogate payments had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul: I want to express my deepest and sincerest gratitude to the citizens of Seoul who voted so that Oh Se-hoon can continue to work as the mayor of Seoul.]

Immediately following the ruling, the Seoul Metropolitan Government issued a statement declaring that it will drive forward Mayor Oh's key policies for the 9th popular term with even greater momentum.

(Photo courtesy of Yang Hyun-chul | Video by Lee So-young)