Seoul mayor acquitted on appeal in political funds case

The Korea Herald · Lee Seung-ku · 2026-10-23 05:19 UTC

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Friday was acquitted by an appellate court of charges that he violated the Political Funds Act ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-elec

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Friday was acquitted by an appellate court of charges that he violated the Political Funds Act ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, overturning a lower court's guilty verdict.

The appellate ruling cancels Oh's conviction by the lower court, which had imposed a 10 million won ($7,500) fine that could have cost him his mayoral post if finalized.

The Seoul High Court found insufficient evidence to establish that Oh had asked self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun to conduct opinion polls and arranged for his longtime supporter, Kim Han-jung, to cover the costs, overturning the lower court's findings.

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