Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hun was acquitted in second trial

China News Service, Seoul, October 23 (Reporter Jin Xu) On the 23rd local time, the Seoul High Court in South Korea issued a second-instance judgment on the case of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hun for allegedly violating the "Political Funds Act" and sentenced Oh Se-hun not guilty.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Oh Se-hun was accused of accepting poll results provided by political broker Myung Tae-gyun 10 times before the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, and asking entrepreneur Kim to pay 33 million won in polling fees on his behalf. The second-instance judgment held that the allegation was not fully proved.

The court pointed out that the only core evidence in this case was Myung Tae-kyun's statement, but his testimony was inconsistent with the objective situation, lacked credibility, and lacked other sufficient evidence to support it. The prosecutor failed to fully prove the alleged facts, so it overturned the guilty verdict of the first instance and acquitted Oh Se-hun.

In the local elections in South Korea held in early June 2026, Wu Shixun was re-elected as the mayor of Seoul. South Korean media reported that the verdict is expected to free Oh Se-hun from the judicial risks that have long restricted his political activities.

On July 22, the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea issued a first-instance verdict on Oh Se-hun's alleged violation of the "Political Funds Act" and sentenced Oh Se-hun to a fine of 10 million won. According to South Korean law, elected public officials who are sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or a fine of more than 1 million won for violating the Political Funds Act will be deprived of their elected public offices.