Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, indicted on charges of receiving opinion poll results from political broker Myung Tae-kyun and having a supporter pay for them, leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 22nd after his sentencing hearing. [Joint Press] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was indicted on charges related to the "Myung Tae-kyun opinion poll payment scandal," was found guilty because the court determined that the evidence regarding Mayor Oh’s orchestration of the poll commissions and the subsequent indirect payments was quite specific and corroborated by circumstances.

Although Mayor Oh strongly denied the credibility of Myung’s testimony, labeling it as false, the court reached a different conclusion.

On the 22nd, the 22nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Hyung-woo) sentenced Mayor Oh to a fine of 10 million won, finding him guilty of five out of the ten opinion polls presented in the indictment.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, indicted on charges of receiving opinion poll results from political broker Myung Tae-kyun and having a supporter pay for them, leaves the courtroom on the afternoon of the 22nd at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
According to the court, Mayor Oh took an interest in Myung on January 20, 2021, reached out to him first, heard explanations regarding election strategy and opinion polls, and even met with Myung in person alongside his closest aide, former Seoul Metropolitan Government Political Affairs Deputy Mayor Kang Cheol-won.

Two days later, on the 22nd, the first opinion poll commissioned by Mayor Oh was conducted.

At the time, the Mirae Korea Research Institute had effectively suspended its polling activities due to funding issues.

However, immediately after meeting with Mayor Oh, the institute conducted the first poll, followed by the second poll (on January 25) and the third poll (on January 29) in rapid succession.

The court noted, "After being unable to conduct any polls for a month due to lack of funds, conducting three polls in such a short period immediately after contact with Mayor Oh suggests that they were commissioned and there was a guarantee regarding the costs."

The court also cited circumstantial evidence, such as proof that Mayor Oh called Myung on the day the first poll was conducted, and that Kang Hye-kyung, a staffer at Mirae Korea Research Institute, sent a message to an acquaintance stating, "I'm leaving work late because I have to conduct a poll."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, indicted on charges of receiving opinion poll results from political broker Myung Tae-kyun and having a supporter pay for them, attends the sentencing hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 22nd. [Provided by Seoul Central District Court] 

The fact that former Deputy Mayor Kang, who was in a position to implement Mayor Oh’s directives, continuously scrutinized and verified the opinion polls also served as grounds for the judgment that the polls were commissioned by the Mayor.

A prime example was the second poll, where former Deputy Mayor Kang raised concerns about the sample size after receiving the statistical table, and the sample size was subsequently reduced.

The court stated, "This was the only one among the many polls conducted by Myung Tae-kyun where the sample size was reduced," adding, "It is reasonable to view the reduction in sample size as a result of Kang Cheol-won raising questions."

There were also circumstances where former Deputy Mayor Kang pushed to include a specific media outlet as a commissioning party for the fourth poll, but once the poll results came out unfavorable to Mayor Oh, that media outlet was subsequently excluded from the list of commissioners.

The court remarked, "Kang Cheol-won introduced the media outlet to Myung Tae-kyun in anticipation of results favorable to Oh Se-hoon. It appears that when the results were unfavorable, he protested, had the outlet removed from the list of commissioners, and delayed the publication as much as possible to minimize its impact."

The court concluded that after verifying Myung’s polls through former Deputy Mayor Kang, Mayor Oh requested his longtime political benefactor, Kim Han-jeong, to cover the costs.

The credibility of Myung’s testimony was also partially accepted.

From the investigation phase to the trial, Myung provided numerous statements that supported the charges against Mayor Oh.

Myung claimed that ahead of the mayoral election, Mayor Oh told him, "Please save me," and "I need a poll that beats Na Kyung-won," and promised him an apartment in exchange for the opinion polls.

The court acknowledged that Myung’s statements were not entirely consistent and that, as a defendant in other criminal cases, he might have provided false information out of self-interest; however, it decided that it was difficult to dismiss all of his testimony as unreliable.

The court stated, "Credibility can be recognized only for parts that align with objective evidence or specific circumstances, and for parts that are consistent with the statements of other defendants."

With Mayor Oh receiving a fine of 10 million won—a sentence that would result in the loss of his mayoral seat—in the first trial, his political future will likely depend on the two upcoming court rulings: the second trial and the final Supreme Court appeal.

For cases indicted by a special prosecutor’s team, the "6-3-3" principle applies under the Special Prosecutor Act, which mandates that the first trial be completed within 6 months, and the second and final appeals within 3 months each.

If this principle is strictly adhered to, it is projected that his fate as Mayor will be decided in the Supreme Court around January of next year.