Seoul mayor fined $6,600 in poll-payment case
· UPIJuly 22 (Asia Today) -- Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was fined 10 million won ($6,600) Wednesday after a court found him guilty of having a political supporter pay for opinion polls he commissioned before the 2021 mayoral by-election.
Oh would lose his position as mayor if the sentence is upheld by the Supreme Court. He rejected the ruling and said he would appeal immediately.
The Seoul Central District Court also ordered Oh to forfeit 21 million won ($13,900).
Former Seoul Vice Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Chul-won, who was indicted with Oh, was fined 3 million won ($2,000). Businessman and political supporter Kim Han-jung was fined 5 million won ($3,300).
Prosecutors accused Oh of receiving the results of 10 private opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun before the April 7, 2021, Seoul mayoral by-election.
They alleged that Oh instructed Kang, then his chief of staff, to have Kim pay about 33 million won ($21,900) in polling costs.
The court found Oh guilty of arranging payment of 21 million won for five polls, including three that were not intended for publication and two that were released publicly.
The court said Oh complained when poll results were unfavorable and sought to delay their release to minimize their negative effect.
"The commissioning and payment of the polls were also connected to an effort to publish and report candidate-commissioned opinion polls prohibited under the Public Official Election Act," the court said. "The nature of the offense is serious."
The court said Oh had previously served as Seoul mayor and should have been familiar with the purpose and requirements of the Political Funds Act.
It also said he led the offense but repeatedly attempted to avoid responsibility during the trial by presenting arguments the court found difficult to accept.
Oh disputed the ruling after leaving the courthouse.
"The court found five opinion polls unlawful today, but I cannot accept that conclusion," Oh told reporters. "The correct decision would have been to find me not guilty on every count."
Oh said the conviction was based on Myung's statements and circumstantial evidence rather than direct evidence.
His legal team said in a statement that it regretted the court's decision to convict Oh without objective evidence.
"It is difficult to accept a conclusion reached by piecing together some of Myung's exaggerated statements and various circumstances," the statement said.
The defense said it would file an immediate appeal.
The case is governed by an expedited trial provision requiring a first-trial ruling within six months of indictment and appellate and Supreme Court rulings within three months of the preceding decision.
A final Supreme Court ruling is expected by January at the latest.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260722010008156