18-month prison term sought for Seoul mayor in appellate political funds trial
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team on Friday sought an 18-month pr...
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is facing a potential 18-month prison sentence in a political funds case involving opinion polls conducted before the 2021 mayoral by-election. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team has requested the prison term after a lower court fined Oh 10 million won for violating the Political Funds Act, putting his mayoral position at risk.
The law states that elected officials face disqualification if they receive a finalized fine of 1 million won or a heavier penalty for accepting illegal political funds. Oh was charged with paying a supporter 33 million won for opinion poll results he obtained 10 times from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the April 2021 by-election.
The lower court partially accepted the charges, ruling that Oh had asked Myung for polls on five occasions, with his supporter paying a total of 21 million won. Min Joong-ki's team accuses Oh of forcing a third party to pay for the polls, emphasizing his prominent position to follow the Political Funds Act. Currently, Oh serves his fifth term as Seoul mayor, having won re-election on June 3.
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