{
  "id": 11379950,
  "title": "18-month prison term sought for Seoul mayor in appellate political funds trial",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/18-month-prison-term-sought-for-seoul-mayor-in-appellate-political-11379950",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T07:07:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/law-crime/20261002/18-month-prison-term-sought-for-seoul-mayor-in-appellate-political-funds-trial"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Friday, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's legal team argued for an 18-month prison sentence in a political funds case concerning opinion polls conducted prior to the 2021 mayoral by-election. The request was made at the Seoul High Court following a lower court's decision to fine Oh 10 million won ($7,400) for violating the Political Funds Act, which could result in the loss of his mayoral position. According to the law, elected officials face removal from office if they receive a finalized fine of 1 million won or greater for accepting illegal political funds. Oh faced charges for providing 33 million won to a supporter for 10 opinion polls received from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun before the April 2021 by-election. The lower court partially upheld the charges, acknowledging that Oh requested polls from Myung five times, with his supporter contributing a total of 21 million won. Min Joong-ki's special counsel team emphasized Oh's prominent role and responsibility in adhering to the Political Funds Act.",
  "summary": "A special counsel team on Friday sought an 18-month prison term for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in a political funds case over opinion polls conducted in the lead-up to the 2021 mayoral by-election. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team made the request at the Seoul High Court after a lower court fined Oh 10 million won ($7,400) for violating the Political Funds Act, putting him at risk of losing his…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "18-month prison term sought for Seoul mayor in appellate political funds trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/18-month-prison-term-sought-for-seoul-mayor-in-appellate-political",
        "published": "2026-10-02T06:21:16.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "18-month prison term sought for Seoul mayor in appellate political funds trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/18-month-prison-term-sought-for-seoul-mayor-in-appellate-political-11376249",
        "published": "2026-10-02T06:42:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}