Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was acquitted on appeal in the case involving allegations that someone else paid for opinion polls conducted by Myeong Tae-gyun, overturning his conviction at trial last July after about three months.
At a sentencing hearing held at 2 p.m. on October 23, the Seoul High Court’s Seventh Criminal Division, presided over by Judge Koo Hoe-geun, overturned the lower court’s order that Oh pay a 10 million won fine and forfeit 21 million won, acquitting him of violating the Political Funds Act.
Former Seoul Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Cheol-won and businessman Kim Han-jung, who were charged alongside Oh, were also acquitted. The central issue in the ruling was not so much whether the polling costs were actually paid as whether there was sufficient evidence that Oh had commissioned the polls and asked someone else to pay for them.
The 2021 by-election and 33 million won in polling costs
The case began with allegations concerning opinion polls conducted by political broker Myeong Tae-gyun ahead of the April 7, 2021, Seoul mayoral by-election and how they were paid for.
The special counsel team investigating Kim Keon-hee alleged that Oh commissioned a total of 10 opinion polls from Myeong and, through Kang Cheol-won, then a campaign official, arranged for longtime supporter and businessman Kim Han-jung to pay the 33 million won in polling costs on his behalf. The team charged Oh with violating the Political Funds Act.
The special counsel deemed the payment an illegal transfer of political funds for political activities. Oh’s side, however, denied both commissioning the polls and asking someone else to pay for them, arguing that Myeong’s statements were not credible.
Following a complaint filed by a civic group in November 2024 and a prosecution investigation, the case was taken up the following year by the special counsel team investigating Kim Keon-hee. Oh, former Deputy Mayor Kang and Kim were sent to trial without detention in December 2025.
Convicted at trial, acquitted on appeal
On July 22, the Seoul Central District Court found that Oh’s side had commissioned five of the 10 opinion polls and arranged for someone else to pay for them. It ruled that the 21 million won spent on those polls constituted illegal political funds.
The court fined Oh 10 million won and ordered him to forfeit 21 million won. It also fined former Deputy Mayor Kang, accused of involvement in conducting the polls, 3 million won and Kim, who paid the costs, 5 million won.
The appeals court, however, found it difficult to regard Myeong Tae-gyun’s statements, which underpinned the central allegations, as credible. It also found the other evidence insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Oh commissioned the polls and asked someone else to pay for them.
The two courts reached different conclusions in their assessment of the evidence, distinguishing between whether the payments alleged by the special counsel were made and whether Oh had requested or directed them.
The credibility of Myeong Tae-gyun’s testimony proved decisive
A key issue on appeal was how much of Myeong Tae-gyun’s courtroom testimony could be trusted.
The court pointed out that Myeong had failed to distinguish facts he had experienced firsthand from his own speculation or exaggeration. It said his accounts lacked consistency: He changed his statements based on his recollection and interpreted some details in his own favor.
Three recordings of calls between Myeong and Kim Han-jung in March 2021 were also newly admitted as evidence on appeal. The two sides offered different interpretations of the remark “Oh Se-hoon doesn’t know” in the recordings.
Oh’s side cited the remark as evidence that he was not involved in the polls. The special counsel countered that it had to be understood in the context of the conversation at the time and that isolated remarks should not be used to judge the allegations as a whole.
Ultimately, the appeals court acquitted Oh of the Political Funds Act violation found at trial, citing doubts about the credibility of Myeong’s statements and insufficient evidence to corroborate them.
Special counsel plans appeal after acquittal
The ruling means Oh can remain in office for now, after receiving a fine at trial that would have cost him the mayoralty.
Under the Political Funds Act, a person whose conviction for illegally receiving political funds results in a final fine of at least 1 million won is barred from holding public office for five years and must also leave any office they currently hold. The appeal ruling therefore directly affected whether Oh could remain in office.
Immediately after the ruling, the special counsel team investigating Kim Keon-hee said it would challenge the verdict at the Supreme Court. It argued that key evidence beyond Myeong’s statements, including conversations with campaign officials and interview records, had not been sufficiently considered.
Whether the acquittal on appeal stands will now depend on the Supreme Court’s decision. The legal dispute over allegations that someone else paid for opinion polls stemming from the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election is expected to continue.
