The appellate trial verdict for Oh Taewan, mayor of Uiryeong County, Gyeongnam, on charges of sexual assault, which was scheduled for the afternoon of the 16th, has been postponed again.
Mayor Oh was indicted on charges of grabbing a female reporter's hand and making sexually harassing remarks during a press conference held at a restaurant in Uiryeong County in 2021.
He was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year probation in the first trial in February last year but appealed the verdict.
The appellate verdict was originally scheduled to be delivered on December 5 last year at the Changwon branch of the Busan High Court but was rescheduled to 4:20 p.m. on January 16 this year.
On that day, it was postponed once again to 1:30 p.m. on February 15.
O Tae-wan, the governor of Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam, is heading to the Changwon District Court building to attend the appellate trial in August last year. [Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]
Earlier, the court stated at the sentencing hearing in November last year that “if there is no firm conviction, the court may postpone the verdict date once.”
According to legal circles, the two changes in the verdict date were decided ex officio by the presiding court.
The court reportedly made this decision to further review the case and carefully consider sentencing before delivering the verdict.
A key issue in the appellate trial was that among eight witnesses who saw the incident, the only witness who supported the victim’s claim suddenly reversed their testimony.
Mayor Oh’s side argued for acquittal, stating that the witness reversed their testimony despite risking perjury charges, and that the victim’s testimony alone raises reasonable doubt about the charges.
The prosecution countered, suggesting that Mayor Oh’s side may have influenced the witness’s testimony, and requested a harsher sentence of eight months in prison than the first trial.
Mayor Oh was elected in the 2021 by-election held after former Uiryeong County Mayor Lee Seondu was disqualified due to a distribution corruption conviction and served as mayor. He was re-elected in the local elections last June.
He is currently also on trial for violating the Public Official Election Act by giving money to A, a special promotion advisor, before last year’s nationwide simultaneous local elections, causing the sending of text messages to influence the election.
If Mayor Oh is sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more, or imprisonment for violating the Public Official Election Act, or if he receives a prison sentence of detention or higher in a criminal case and it becomes final, Uiryeong County will lose its head once again.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
