(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Dong-gyu Kim and Bae-eum Lee = As former President Seok-yeol Yoon, who was indicted on charges of receiving free opinion polls from political broker Tae-gyun Myeong, was found not guilty in the second trial, interest is also focused on the results of the second trial of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's election law violation case.
Mayor Oh's side expects that the first trial's guilty verdict could be overturned in the same context as the former President Yoon case.
On the other hand, although both Yoon Seok-yeol and Mayor Oh Se-hoon were each involved in the 'Myeong Tae-gyun opinion poll', some point out that the results cannot be quickly concluded as there is a fundamental difference in the case structure.
On the 7th, the 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Koo Hoe-geun) acquitted former President Yoon and Mr. Myung, who were sent to trial on charges of violating the Political Fund Act.
The same court is also scheduled to deliver Mayor Oh's second trial on charges of violating the Political Fund Act on the 23rd.
The biggest difference between the Yoon Seok-yeol couple case and the Mayor Oh Se-hoon case is who paid for the 'Myung Tae-gyun opinion poll'.
Former President Yoon was indicted on charges of conspiring with First Lady Kim Kun-hee to receive free opinion polls worth 270 million won from Mr. Myeong.
Min Joong-ki's special prosecutor's team charged Myung Tae-gyun with violating the Political Fund Act, believing that he paid the public opinion poll costs that former President Yoon was supposed to pay.
Donating political funds must have financial benefits. For this reason, the issue in the trial was whether the free opinion poll constituted a 'property benefit', and on this day, the second trial court evaluated it as a 'political benefit', overturning the first trial judgment and overturning the charge of violating the Political Fund Act.
Mayor Oh Se-hoon was indicted on charges of requesting 10 opinion polls from Myung Tae-gyun and paying 33 million of the cost to Kim Han-jeong, known as a long-time supporter (violation of the Political Fund Act).
Looking at the allegations, it is Mayor Oh, not Myung Tae-gyun, who paid for the poll.
The Public Official Election Act prohibits public opinion polls from being conducted and reported in the name of candidates.
Since there is a history of actually exchanging public opinion poll fees between Kim Han-jeong and Myung Tae-gyun, the issue of the trial is whether Mayor Oh Se-hoon was aware of this.
The first trial sentenced Mr. Myeong to a fine of 10 million won, saying that considering Mayor Oh's political situation, he had a motive to request public opinion polls, and that he had ordered five of the public opinion polls and made him pay about 21 million won.
At the same time, it was determined that Kim Han-jeong's act of paying for the poll on behalf of the public opinion poll was equivalent to donating illegal political funds.
In addition, in both the Yoon Seok-yeol couple case and the Mayor Oh Se-hoon case, the issue is whether or not Mr. Myung Tae-gyun 'requested' the public opinion poll, but Mr. Myeong showed a completely different attitude in the two cases.
Mr. Myung claimed that in the case of former President Yoon, he was not requested to conduct an opinion poll and the cost was never mentioned. He said that he unilaterally sent the results of the opinion poll.
On the other hand, in Mayor Oh Se-hoon's trial, it is claimed that Mayor Oh requested a public opinion poll and also discussed the cost.
For this reason, Mayor Oh's appellate court also asked Mr. Myeong, who appeared as a witness, why the circumstances of the two cases were different.
Mr. Myeong argued that there was no need to request a public opinion poll because former President Yoon had high approval ratings at the time, but Mayor Oh had a weak position, so he was the leader.
On this day, former President Yoon Seok-yeol's second trial court ruled, "There is absolutely no evidence that there was any agreement between Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife Myung Tae-gyun, such as a request or agreement on conducting an opinion poll or providing it free of charge."
Meanwhile, Mayor Oh is in an encouraging mood as former President Yoon was found not guilty in the second trial.
First, compared to former President Yoon, who was sentenced to two years in prison in the first trial, Mayor Oh received a relatively light sentence of 10 million won in fines in the first trial. Since the first trial judgment against former President Yoon was overturned, there is an expectation that the second trial result against Mayor Oh can be overturned more easily.
Looking at the amount of sentence, the special prosecutor requested 4 years in prison for former President Yoon, and 1 year and 6 months in prison for Mayor Oh, requesting a heavier sentence for former President Yoon.
The fact that the second trial court appears to have used only clear evidence, not circumstantial evidence, as the basis for its decision is also one of the factors raising Mayor Oh's expectations.
Mayor Oh's side submitted additional evidence to the second trial court to prove his innocence, including a recording of Myung Tae-gyun saying, "Anyway, I don't know Oh Se-hoon." The first trial used some of Myung Tae-gyun's unreliable remarks as grounds for guilt, but the second trial is expected to make a different judgment based on strict evidentiary principles.
Mayor Oh's side is emphasizing that the basic principle of criminal trials, which is that it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by evidence rather than speculation or possibility, must be observed.
In particular, the second trial court in charge of former President Yoon's trial on this day is the same as Mayor Oh's second trial court, so this time, the court is expected to strictly examine the evidence and change the issue of the trial from 'prove innocence' to 'prove guilt', placing a strict burden of proof on the special prosecutor, not Mayor Oh.
A former chief prosecutor who mainly investigated election cases said, "The issue is whether Mayor Oh was aware of the payment, so there is a difference in structure from former President Yoon's case." He added, "The issue seems to be how credible Mr. Myeong's statement can be, and whether Mayor Oh knew or at least acknowledged the fact that he paid money in exchange for an opinion poll, and whether his intention to not fill out the case is acknowledged."
