{
  "id": 16161539,
  "title": "Main opposition welcomes Seoul mayor's acquittal in political funds trial",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/main-opposition-welcomes-seoul-mayors-acquittal-in-political-funds-16161539",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-23T07:22:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20261023/main-opposition-welcomes-seoul-mayors-acquittal-in-political-funds-trial"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) applauded an appeals court ruling that acquitted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in a politically charged funds case tied to opinion polls conducted in the run-up to the 2021 mayoral by-election. The PPP's chief spokesperson, Park Choong-kwon, hailed the decision as both a relief and a fitting outcome, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the city administration's continuity under Oh Se-hoon's leadership, who represents the PPP and is supported by ten million Seoul residents.\n\nOh had been initially fined 10 million won ($7,500) by a lower court for breaking the Political Funds Act and faced the possibility of losing his mayoral position. The PPP's chief spokesperson expressed his satisfaction, stating that the verdict reaffirms the importance of truth prevailing, even if it takes time.\n\nThe indictments stemmed from allegations that Oh received 33 million won in payments for political polls from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun on ten separate occasions prior to the 2021 election. Under the Political Funds Act, elected officials may be removed from office if they receive such unauthorized funds.",
  "summary": "The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday welcomed an appeals court's decision to acquit Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in a high-stakes political funds case linked to opinion polls ahead of the 2021 mayoral by-election. Oh, who had been fined 10 million won ($7,500) by a lower court for violating the Political Funds Act and was at risk of losing his mayoral post, was acquitted on appeal. He…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "(URGENT) Appeals court acquits Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in political funds trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/urgent-appeals-court-acquits-seoul-mayor-oh-se-hoon-in-political",
        "published": "2026-10-23T05:18:14.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}