July 23, 2026
SEOUL – Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was fined 10 million won ($6,800) Wednesday after a court found him guilty of having a longtime supporter pay for opinion polls conducted ahead of the 2021 mayoral by-election.
Under the Political Funds Act, Oh could lose his post if a fine of at least 1 million won is upheld in a final ruling. The first-trial ruling does not immediately affect his status as mayor.
The Seoul Central District Court found that Oh had asked political broker Myung Tae-kyun to conduct the polls and arranged for his supporter, Kim Han-jung, to cover the costs.
The court upheld charges involving 21 million won paid for five of the 10 polls cited in the indictment. Three of the five were not publicly released.
“The payments constituted a political contribution because Kim covered on Oh’s behalf the costs Oh became liable for after commissioning the surveys from Myung,” the court said.
In determining the sentence, the court said Oh had played a leading role in the offense despite being well aware of the Political Funds Act from his years in public office.
It also noted that Oh did not appear to have sought a substantial political advantage through the polls.
“Throughout the trial, he consistently sought to evade responsibility by offering various explanations and arguments that are difficult to accept,” the court said.
Oh was indicted in December on charges of receiving the results of 10 polls from Myung ahead of the April 2021 by-election and having Kim pay 33 million won for them through Kang Cheol-won, who was Oh’s chief of staff at the time and later served as Seoul vice mayor.
Prosecutors had sought an 18-month prison sentence and an order requiring Oh to forfeit 33 million won.
After the ruling, Oh said he would appeal, arguing that the court had based its decision on Myung’s testimony and circumstantial evidence without any direct evidence.
“I cannot accept the ruling. I believe I should be found not guilty on all charges related to the opinion polls,” Oh said.
“The ruling is based on speculation and a predetermined conclusion that Myung’s claims must be true,” he added. “There is no direct evidence. It relies only on the testimony of Myung, a liar, and circumstantial evidence.”
Kang and Kim, who were indicted alongside Oh, were fined 3 million won and 5 million won, respectively.