Appeals court to rule on Seoul mayor's high-stakes political funds trial

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s trial concerns alleged improper political-fund payments linked to opinion polls. Prosecutors accused him of receiving polls from Myung Tae-kyun before the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, while a political supporter allegedly paid for them. The case matters because election-related benefits can trigger penalties under the Political Funds Act.

The alleged payments totaled 33 million won for 10 opinion polls. The lower court found part of the accusation proven. It ruled that Oh had asked Myung for polls five times and that Oh’s supporter paid Myung 21 million won. In July, the court imposed a 10 million won fine.

The Seoul High Court was scheduled to announce its decision Friday, with the sentencing hearing broadcast live at 2 p.m. If it upholds the conviction and the ruling becomes final through appeal, Oh will lose his mayorship. He had been elected to a fifth term in June.

Three roles shape the case. Oh Se-hoon was Seoul’s mayor and the defendant accused of receiving opinion polls improperly. Myung Tae-kyun was described as a self-proclaimed power broker who provided the polls. A political supporter of Oh allegedly handled the payments rather than Oh paying Myung directly.

The prosecution’s allegation was that Oh received 10 polls from Myung ahead of the 2021 mayoral by-election. The supporter allegedly paid Myung 33 million won in total. The lower court accepted only part of that account. It found that Oh had asked for polls five times and that his supporter paid 21 million won.

The roles matter because the case examines whether the polls were political benefits accepted through an intermediary. The lower court imposed a 10 million won fine on Oh. The Seoul High Court was set to review that conviction, and a finalized result could determine whether Oh remains mayor.

The prosecution alleged that Oh received opinion polls on 10 occasions before the 2021 mayoral by-election. It also alleged that a political supporter paid Myung Tae-kyun 33 million won for those polls. These figures describe the full scope of the accusation, not the portion ultimately accepted by the lower court.

In July, the lower court partially recognized the charges. It ruled that Oh had asked Myung for opinion polls five times. It also found that Oh’s supporter paid the power broker 21 million won. On that basis, the court sentenced Oh to a 10 million won fine.

The difference between the allegation and the accepted findings is central to the appeal. The Seoul High Court was scheduled to decide whether to uphold the lower court’s conviction. If the conviction becomes final, the 10 million won fine exceeds the one-million-won threshold that can cost an elected official their seat.

An appeals court is a higher court that reviews a decision made by a lower court. It examines whether the trial court applied the law correctly and whether its findings can stand. It usually works from the existing case record, rather than simply starting the entire trial again.

In Oh Se-hoon’s case, the Seoul High Court was scheduled to review the lower court’s July conviction and 10 million won fine. The lower court had partially recognized the charges, finding five poll requests and 21 million won in payments. The appeals court could uphold that decision or alter the outcome.

The ruling matters beyond the fine itself. If the Seoul High Court upholds the conviction and the ruling becomes final through appeal, Oh will lose his mayorship under the Political Funds Act. Thus, the appeals process can determine both criminal liability and his continued position as an elected official.

The one-million-won threshold matters because the Political Funds Act attaches an office-holding consequence to serious improper acceptance of political funds. An elected official is stripped of their seat when the relevant punishment becomes final. The rule turns a criminal penalty into a direct political consequence.

Oh’s lower-court sentence was a 10 million won fine after the court partially recognized the allegations. That amount is ten times the one-million-won threshold stated in the article. The alleged benefit involved opinion polls that Myung Tae-kyun provided before the 2021 mayoral by-election, with payments allegedly made by Oh’s supporter.

The fine alone was not described as immediately removing Oh. The Seoul High Court first had to rule, and the conviction would need to become final through appeal. If that happens, the article states that Oh will lose his mayorship, despite having won a fifth term in June.

The 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election is important because it was the election immediately preceding the alleged opinion-poll exchanges. The article places Oh’s requests and the payments before that contest. That timing makes the polls part of a political-funds case rather than an unrelated private transaction.

According to the allegations, Oh received opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun on 10 occasions before the by-election. A political supporter allegedly paid Myung 33 million won. The lower court found a narrower set of facts: five requests by Oh and 21 million won paid by his supporter.

The election setting also explains the case’s political stakes. Oh later won a fifth term in June, but a finalized conviction could remove him from office. The Seoul High Court’s scheduled decision therefore concerned both the legal status of the alleged pre-election benefits and the future of Seoul’s elected mayor.

Political funds are money or valuable benefits used to support political activity or an election. Opinion research can be valuable because it may help a candidate understand voters and shape campaign decisions. When someone provides that benefit privately, it can function like an in-kind political contribution rather than cash.

The case illustrates the issue through alleged opinion polls supplied by Myung Tae-kyun before the 2021 mayoral by-election. The allegation says Oh received 10 polls, while his political supporter allegedly paid 33 million won. The lower court recognized five requests and 21 million won in payments.

Election laws regulate such benefits to promote transparency and prevent candidates from receiving hidden advantages. The article identifies the Political Funds Act as the relevant law and says a finalized fine of at least 1 million won for improper acceptance strips an elected official of their seat. Oh’s 10 million won fine therefore carries major consequences if finalized.