Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon denied all charges at his first trial on allegations of having polling costs illegally paid by a third party during a by-election.
"The trial period coincides exactly with the election period. This is a suspicious point," Oh said.
The 22nd Criminal Division of Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo) held the first hearing on June 4 for Oh, former Seoul Metropolitan Government Vice Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Chul-won, and businessman surnamed Kim, a supporter, all indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.
Oh's defense team categorically denied all charges. "There was no request to Myung Tae-kyun for by-election polling, no instruction to former Vice Mayor Kang to conduct polling, and no request to Mr. Kim for financial support," the defense counsel said.
The defense emphasized Oh had no motive to request polling from Myung. "Myung is a political broker who has curried favor with politicians by providing manipulated polls for personal gain," the lawyer said. "Myung approached Mayor Oh through former lawmaker Kim Young-sun and first offered to help with by-election polling at their initial meeting on January 20, 2021."
Oh's campaign team had sufficient funds to conduct polling legally and had no reason to commission surveys from a small-scale operator, the defense added.
Former Vice Mayor Kang also denied the charges. "There was no polling conducted under Mayor Oh's instruction," Kang's defense said. "He only received instructions to verify whether someone named Myung Tae-kyun was trustworthy."
The defense explained Kang only exchanged communications with Myung, who offered to bring test polling as part of the verification process. Kang's side stressed that verification confirmed Myung lacked credibility as a pollster, which was reported to Mayor Oh.
Mr. Kim's defense also denied the charges, stating he "never received any request from Mayor Oh to cover polling costs or lend money."
Oh is accused of requesting polling from political broker Myung ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and instructing then-Chief of Staff Kang to coordinate with Myung on conducting polls. The special prosecutor believes Oh asked supporter Kim to cover the polling costs.
Arriving at court, Oh questioned the timing of the trial coinciding with the election period. "This case became public in September 2024, and I repeatedly urged investigative authorities to conduct a swift investigation," he said. "That did not happen, and the trial began through the special prosecution, with the trial period overlapping exactly with the election period."
Oh added: "The special prosecution started last July, summoned me in November, and indicted me in December. The trial dates fall exactly in March and April when campaigning begins in earnest."
"I believe many citizens can infer what this means," Oh said. "This is too suspicious to dismiss as mere coincidence."