"Oh Sehoon’s Team in 'Myung Taegyun Allegations' Case Denies Charges at First Hearing, Requests Trial After Local Elections"

"Never Commissioned Polls to Myung Taegyun," Denies All Charges

The legal team representing Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon, who has been brought to trial over the "Myung Taegyun Polling Allegations" case, denied the charges at the first hearing and requested that the trial be postponed until after the local elections in June next year.

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon, along with speakers and key guests, are taking a commemorative photo at the "2025 Seoul International Stepping Stone Income Forum" held on December 23 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul. 2025.12.23 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

The 22nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Hyungwoo) held the first pretrial hearing on December 23 for Mayor Oh, former Seoul Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Chulwon, and businessman Kim Hanjung, who are accused of violating the Political Funds Act.

The pretrial hearing is a procedure to confirm both parties' positions and establish a plan for evidence examination before the formal trial begins. Since the defendants are not required to attend, Mayor Oh did not appear in court on this day.

The attorneys for Mayor Oh and former Deputy Mayor Kang stated, "The defendants never commissioned Myung Taegyun to conduct any polling, nor did they ask businessman Kim Hanjung to pay for such services." They added, "Former Deputy Mayor Kang did ask Myung Taegyun, who claimed to be a polling expert and offered to help with the election, to conduct a trial poll, but the results were completely unreliable, so they cut off contact with him."

Mayor Oh's side also requested the court to postpone the trial until after the local elections in June next year, citing concerns that the case could be used for political purposes. According to the Kim Keonhee Special Prosecutor Act, the first trial verdict must be delivered within six months of the indictment, so since Mayor Oh was indicted by Special Prosecutor Min Joongki's team on December 1, the verdict must be reached before June next year.

Mayor Oh's legal team argued, "The party's primary is coming up soon, and if Mayor Oh becomes the candidate, he will begin full-scale campaigning. There is concern that the opposing party could heavily emphasize the testimony of witnesses, so unless the special law is mandatory, the proceedings should take place after the local elections." In contrast, the special prosecutor's team insisted that the trial should proceed immediately.

The court responded, "We will review the request, but postponing the proceedings until after the local elections is somewhat passive," adding, "The special prosecutor act stipulates that the trial should be concluded within six months if possible, so if we start after the local election date of June 3, it may be difficult."

Mayor Oh's side also argued that the alleged actions took place during the party's primary process and therefore do not fall under the scope of the Kim Keonhee Special Prosecutor's investigation, which targets "election interference allegations in the 2021 by-elections."

They further raised an issue with the indictment, claiming that the specifics regarding the time and place of the alleged collusion between Mayor Oh and former Deputy Mayor Kang were not clearly stated. In response, the special prosecutor's team said they would submit an additional opinion on this matter.

Meanwhile, the court pointed out that the indictment included information about former Deputy Mayor Kang's previous convictions, which could violate the "Indictment Particularity Principle." This principle requires that only facts directly related to the crime be included in the indictment to prevent prejudice regarding the defendant's guilt or innocence. The special prosecutor's team stated they would address this before the formal trial begins.

The special prosecutor's team announced plans to call Myung Taegyun, former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Youngsun, and Kim's accounting manager Kang Hyekyung as witnesses. The court decided to hold another pretrial hearing on January 28 next year before proceeding to the formal trial.

Mayor Oh was indicted on December 1 on charges of receiving polling results from Myung Taegyun on 10 occasions ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and having his supporter, Mr. Kim, pay the costs on his behalf.

Myung Taegyun claims to have met Mayor Oh seven times before the by-election and alleges that Mayor Oh said during the campaign, "Please save me," and "We need polling that shows me beating Na Kyungwon."