(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Young-seop and Lee Bae-eum = Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was indicted on suspicion of 'Myeong Tae-gyun's payment of public opinion poll fees', was also sentenced to prison in the appeals court. The second trial will be sentenced at 2 p.m. on the 23rd.
If Mayor Oh is fined more than 1 million won, he will lose his position as mayor and will be unable to run for the next presidential election.
Special prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team requested, "Please sentence him to 1 year and 6 months in prison and an additional fine of 33 million won" at the appellate hearing on Mayor Oh's charges of violating the Political Fund Act held at the 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Koo Hoe-geun) on the 2nd.
Former Seoul Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Cheol-won, a close associate of Mayor Oh, and businessman Kim, a supporter, were each sentenced to one year in prison.
All are the same as those imposed by the special prosecution team at the time of the first trial.
The special prosecutor's team criticized the defendant, saying, "Defendant Oh Se-hoon is a powerful politician, and is in a position to comply with the political fund law more than anyone else," and added, "He made the public opinion poll costs, which are closely related to political activities, be paid to a third party without going through legal procedures."
He went on to point out, "The public's trust in law and order has been undermined, and even though he is the ultimate beneficiary of this crime, he has avoided responsibility by denying the charges during the investigation and trial process," and "severe punishment is inevitable."
They criticized former Vice Mayor Kang Cheol-won, saying, "As Oh Se-hoon's closest adviser, he was in charge of important communication in the execution of the crime even though he was in a key position to manage the overall election campaign," and Mr. Kim was criticized for "violating the fairness of the political process by paying the poll costs that should have been borne by Oh Se-hoon's side."
Mayor Oh's lawyer claimed not guilty in his final argument, saying, "Myung Tae-gyun's statement cannot be trusted, and the indictment cannot be acknowledged just by looking at the related phone call recordings."
He referred to the phone recording file between Mr. Myeong and Mr. Kim submitted in the second trial and emphasized, "It is the core impeachment evidence in this case and evidence that directly contradicts the facts of the indictment."
The file included content in which Mr. Myeong said to Mr. Kim, "Anyway, Oh Se-hoon doesn't know. Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it." and "Did I receive a ten-won note from Oh Se-hoon once?"
The defense lawyer repeated the argument that this shows that Mr. Kim voluntarily requested an opinion poll from Mr. Myeong, unrelated to Mayor Oh.
He pointed out, "If you look at Myung's recently submitted statement, it is claimed that 'Oh Se-hoon doesn't know' means that he doesn't know the unification strategy, not the opinion poll, but it is easy to see (that this is not true). It is not difficult to have a conversation," he said.
In his final statement, Mayor Oh appealed, “It is completely incompatible with my political beliefs to ask a so-called sponsor to pay for the expenses.”
He explained, "Ever since I entered politics, I have believed in politics that is free from money and that I would be a clean politician," and explained that when he was a first-term lawmaker, he took the lead in passing the so-called 'Oh Se-hoon Act', which was aimed at banning corporate sponsorship of political funds.
Mayor Oh said, "I cannot help but feel sorry and sorry to the people," and added, "I deeply reflect on having to stand in court for not being able to firmly cut off Myung Tae-gyun and giving him room to continue approaching. It was all my fault."
He then appealed, saying, "I am not afraid of losing my position," and "I am afraid that in an era of political distrust, the noble politics that the people have trusted, the politics that have painstakingly maintained their principles, will be polluted by the hatred and hostility of a single political broker, disappointing the people, and that the mission given to me, including the prosperity of the city of Seoul, will come to a standstill due to circumstances where the mission given to me, including the prosperity of the city of Seoul, has been manipulated."
Mayor Oh cried several times and wiped away his tears during his final statement.
Mayor Oh is accused of receiving opinion poll results from Myung Tae-gyun a total of 10 times ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, and paying 33 million won in expenses on his behalf to Mr. Kim, a businessman known to be a long-time supporter.
The first trial sentenced Mayor Oh to a fine of 10 million won and ordered him to pay an additional fine of 21 million won after admitting that Mayor Oh had commissioned five public opinion polls from Mr. Myeong and had Mr. Kim pay the cost of 21 million won.
This is equivalent to loss of mayoral position.
According to Article 57 of the Political Funds Act, if a person is sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for illegal receipt of political funds, he or she cannot be inaugurated or appointed to public office for 5 years after the sentence is confirmed, and if he or she has already been inaugurated or appointed, he or she must retire from that position.
In the first trial, former Vice Mayor Kang was sentenced to a fine of 3 million won and Mr. Kim was sentenced to a fine of 5 million won.
