In the appeal trial of Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul, who is accused of violating political funding laws, a recording of phone calls exchanged between businessman Kim Han-jung and political broker Myung Tae-kyun has been accepted as evidence. The calls suggest that Mayor Oh did not commission a public opinion survey from Myung.
On September 16, the 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court, presided over by Judge Koo Hoe-geun, accepted the phone recording and transcript submitted by Kim's side as impeachment evidence during the fifth hearing of the case against Oh and Kim.
During the trial, approximately 18 minutes of the recorded conversation between Kim and Myung, which took place ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, was played.
The recording includes Myung telling Kim, "Oh Se-hoon doesn't know, so don't worry. I'll handle it myself," and Kim responding, "I did this because I wanted to help this guy," and "It wasn't requested from there; I did it on my own." This contradicts the prosecution's claim that Oh commissioned a public opinion survey and had Kim pay the 21 million won cost on his behalf.
The special prosecution team opposed the acceptance of the evidence, citing potential contamination due to artificial editing. However, the court stated that no evidence of falsehood or manipulation has been confirmed to date and accepted the recording as impeachment evidence.
The court plans to hold a sentencing hearing on October 2 at 2 p.m. to conclude the arguments.
Oh is facing trial for allegedly commissioning a public opinion survey from Myung ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and having his supporter Kim pay the 21 million won fee.
Previously, the first trial sentenced Oh to a fine of 10 million won, equivalent to a penalty that would result in the loss of his mayoral position, and ordered the forfeiture of 21 million won.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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