Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Acquitted on Appeal in Poll Case

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was acquitted on appeal on Friday (Oct 23) of violating the Political Funds Act, with the Seoul High Court overturning a lower-court fine that could have cost him his post, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

The court’s Criminal Division 7 also cleared Kang Chul-won, Oh’s former vice mayor for political affairs, and businessman Kim Han-jung, a longtime backer of the mayor. The ruling was delivered at the court in Seocho District, Seoul, at a hearing scheduled for 2pm.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Acquitted

Prosecutors had alleged that Oh received 10 opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, and that Kim paid the 33 million won cost on his behalf. Oh was indicted in December 2025 by the special counsel investigating Kim Keon-hee.

At the first trial, Oh was fined 10 million won (about US$7,500) and ordered to forfeit 21 million won. On appeal, the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki sought a prison term of one year and six months and forfeiture of 33 million won.

According to the JoongAng Daily, a final fine of 1 million won or more would have barred Oh from public office for five years, costing him the mayoralty and blocking a run in the next presidential election.

Court Doubts Broker’s Testimony

SBS reported that the court found Myung’s testimony was the only direct evidence on the central issue and was difficult to believe, mixing first-hand facts with speculation and exaggeration and clashing with objective facts and other witnesses.

The judges noted that Myung did not mention Oh during an earlier investigation into Kim Young-sun, and began focusing on the mayor around December 2024, when Oh said he would file a complaint against him. The court concluded guilt had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The JoongAng Daily said audio recordings submitted by the defence proved decisive. In one, Myung is heard saying: “Anyway, Oh Se-hoon doesn’t know.”

Special Counsel to Appeal

After the verdict, Oh said, “I will work even harder to repay the trust of the citizens,” the Seoul Economic Daily reported. People Power Party chief spokesperson Park Chung-kwon described the ruling as justice taking its proper course. Fourteen lawmakers, 13 from the People Power Party and one from the Reform Party, met Oh at the courthouse, according to the JoongAng Daily.

Min’s special counsel team objected to the ruling and said it would immediately appeal to the Supreme Court, the Seoul Economic Daily reported.

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