Special Counsel Seeks 18-Month Prison Term for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon
Prosecutors asked an appellate court to sentence Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to 18 months in prison in a political funds case involving opinion polling before the 2021 mayoral by-election.
A special counsel team asked the Seoul High Court on Friday to sentence Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to 18 months in prison in an appellate trial over alleged violations of South Korea’s Political Funds Act.
The case concerns opinion polls conducted before the April 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election. Oh was indicted on allegations that a political supporter paid 33 million won for polling results that he received on 10 occasions from Myung Tae-kyun, a self-described political power broker.
The sentencing request came after a lower court fined Oh 10 million won, equivalent to about $7,400, for violating the political funding law. The lower court partially accepted the allegations, finding that Oh had requested polling from Myung on five occasions and that his supporter paid a combined 21 million won for those surveys.
At the final appellate hearing, the special counsel’s team argued that Oh had caused a third party to cover the cost of polls linked to his political activity. It emphasized that, as a prominent elected official, he had a heightened duty to comply with rules intended to ensure transparency in political financing.
The appeal carries direct consequences for Oh’s tenure at Seoul City Hall. Under South Korean law, an elected official loses office if a fine of at least 1 million won for accepting illegal political funds becomes final. The lower court’s 10 million won fine exceeds that threshold, although the appellate proceedings mean the case has not yet reached a final resolution.
Oh is serving his fifth term as mayor of the South Korean capital after winning the June 3 local election. The appellate court’s eventual judgment will determine whether the lower court’s findings and penalty stand, are changed or are overturned.
The hearing places renewed attention on the legal boundary between campaign-related political research and expenses that must be handled under formal political funding procedures. It also raises the stakes for Seoul’s municipal leadership because a final qualifying penalty would remove the mayor from office.
Friday’s proceeding was a sentencing request by the special counsel, not the appellate court’s verdict. Oh therefore remains in office while the judicial process continues.